Volocopter flies past crowdfunding goal

By Darren Quick
December 8, 2013

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E-volo's Volocopter takes to the air for the first time last month

The maiden flight of e-volo's 18-rotor Volocopter electric aircraft prototype last month seems to have impressed quite a few people. The company is claiming a European crowdfunding record after raising €1.2 million (US$1.64 million) in under four days.
The fundraising effort was launched on German crowdfunding platform Seedmatch, which differs from better-known platforms such as Kickstarter and Indiegogo in that it lets people invest in startup companies rather than simply pledge funds to essentially pre-order a particular product.
The Seedmatch campaign passed the €500,000 (US$685,000) mark in just two and a half hours, on the way to a total of €1.2 million in three days, nine hours and 52 minutes. Some 750 investors committed between €250 and €10,000 (US$340 and $13,700).
“The raised money will now serve to optimize the first prototype of the VC200 and, as part of the testing scheme, conclude a comprehensive test flight program for this new aviation category," says e-volo Managing Director Alexander Zosel. "After that, we will build a weight-optimized prototype of the VC200 near series production conditions and finalize type-certification and mold construction for series production."
Source: E-volo