E-Volo, a German company that successfully flew an innovative electric-powered vertical-takeoff aircraft in 2011, now says it is ready to build a two-person design. Germany’s transport ministry will have to create a new category and develop new regulations to allow the aircraft to fly, and E-Volo says that process is under way. The company said they hope to achieve extensive endurance testing of the passenger cabin, the landing framework and the rotor array by this summer, so they can start test flights this year.The company said it plans to exhibit a full-size mock-up of its Volocopter at Aero 2013, in Friedrichshafen, Germany, in April. Germany’s federal ministry of economics and technology has granted the company a subsidy of about $2.6 million to help cover the costs of the project.
