ADAC Luftrettung reserves multicopters for air rescue

VoloCitys are electrically powered, vertical take-off aircraft (eVTOL). ADAC Luftrettung decided on this investment based on the results of the organization’s feasibility study on the use of manned multicopters in the rescue service. After two years of close co-operation between the two companies, this is the next step in preparing for operational tests of multicopters in the rescue service from 2023.

“Based on the encouraging results of our feasibility study, we are expanding our technological lead when it comes to multicopter missions in air rescue. Volocopter is the only eVTOL provider that is sufficiently advanced to reliably plan a test program for our purposes,” said Frédéric Bruder, Managing Director of ADAC Luftrettung. "We are pleased that we have secured two of the first VoloCitys for air rescue."

First air rescue organization to test multicopters

ADAC Luftrettung positions itself as the first organization in the world to test the operation of multicopters for the transport of emergency doctors. Working together, ADAC and Volocopter are breaking new ground to bring emergency doctors to the scene of an accident quickly.

“Our partnership with ADAC Luftrettung, the operator of Europe's largest helicopter fleet, has shown how great the potential of eVTOLs is,” commented Florian Reuter, CEO of Volocopter. "The ADAC Luftrettung [order] is a clear sign of confidence in our ability to bring our eVTOL technology to the market reliably."

Air rescue with mutlicopters is ‘sensible’

The collaboration between Volocopter and ADAC Luftrettung began in 2018. The background to the collaboration was the feasibility study funded by the ADAC Foundation on the use of multicopters in air rescue. The study was carried out in co-operation with the Institute for Emergency Medicine and Medical Management of the Ludwig Maximilians University in Munich and includes over 26,000 computer-simulated emergency operations with multicopters in the model regions of Dinkelsbühl in Bavaria and Idar-Oberstein in Rhineland.

The result showed that air rescue with manned multicopters is possible, sensible and improves emergency medical care for the population. In the next two years, ADAC Luftrettung and Volocopter will carry out flight tests in order to prepare for the joint operational tests from 2023.