A German team called E-volo has tested a two seater multicopter this week – The E-volo Volocopter. Although the test flight lasted only for 90 seconds but E-volo’s two seater multicopter is capable for flying over 20 minutes in a single attempt and in a single charge. It is placed at the Karlsruhe eMobilitätszentrum for a display. E-volo also launched single seater 16-rotor multicopter in October last year. The two seater  multicopter will be commercialized in 2013.

There are total 16 rotors in the E-volo Volocopter and each is powered by its own excellent power density lithium-ion battery. There is a central command and control system which smoothly translates pilot’s controls into a three-dimensional movement but multicopter hangs in air by default. Multicopter is as safe as a helicopter but with no overhead rotor.

The test flight was successful but still E-volo team is facing some major issues regarding flight time duration and the weight of the multicopter. Although lithium-ion batteries have an excellent power density but still the flight duration is big problem. The team is suggested with two best alternates, internal combustion engine and a hybrid system with batteries. The propellers need to be protected because they are not safe at the moment. Theses issues will lead multicopter to an extra weight addition.