German regulator approves Volocopter as training organisation

Volocopter is now an approved training organisation (ATO) following certification by the German Federal Aviation office (Luftfahrt Bundesamt).

This certification, held through its subsidiary Volocopter Air Services, allows the OEM to train pilots for its future products, and that training will go towards pilot licenses. Volocopter says is the first eVTOL aircraft developer to receive ATO.

Oliver Reinhardt chief risk and certification at Volocopter said: “This is another substantial milestone on the way to bring electric air taxis to cities around the world. It bears witness to the robust aviation company Volocopter has become over the past decade and how diligent and professional our entire team works.”

The approval was handed over with zero findings in the final audit, according to Volocopter. Luftfahrt Bundesamt spent the past year checking if the OEM meets the rules and standards required to produce training materials for aircraft/simulators upon which the training is delivered.

As part of the approval, Volocopter will now work on the transition to finalise the training programme for its VoloCity in cooperation with the Luftfahrt Bundesamt. The ATO forms a key piece of the firm’s journey to receiving an Air Operator Certificate – which will allow the company to operate once the VoloCity receives type certification which is expected later this year.

Meanwhile, Volocopter has also received the Luftfahrt Bundesamt’s production organisation approval (POA) extension that permits production of its VoloCity aircraft. This POA extension applies to two new Volocopter production and hangar facilities in Bruchsal, Germany, that were first unveiled in April 2023. Volocopter first received EASA’s design organisation approval (DOA) in 2019, followed by the initial POA in 2021.

Andreas Fehring chief operating officer of Volocopter said: “This is a major milestone for us. Aircraft design and production are strongly regulated for a good reason: to produce safe mobility products. I am pleased that Volocopter’s production facility has the trust of and stamp of approval from LBA to manufacture commercial aircraft that can be delivered to customers once the VoloCity receives type certification.”