Volocopter acquires DG Flugzeugbau to secure EASA production approval

July 7, 2021: The urban air mobility (UAM) firm, Volocopter, announced that it has secured Production Organisation Approval (POA) in compliance with the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA Part 21G) by acquiring its production partner, DG Flugzeugbau.

Through this acquisition, Volocopter is now the first and only electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) company holding both the required design and production organization approvals (DOA and POA) to advance its aircraft toward commercial launch, giving it a competitive edge in the race to bring UAM to life.

As an international pioneer of eVTOL air taxi technology, Volocopter has paved the way for creating the ecosystem necessary to introduce UAM to cities worldwide with its electric air taxi and cargo drone services.

Notably, in 2019, Volocopter was the first and remains the only eVTOL company to attain DOA from EASA (EASA Part 21J). EASA is the regulator with the highest safety standards for aircraft certification, in the case of SC-VTOL requiring the same safety level as expected from commercial airliners. Volocopter's certification with EASA is easily transferable across global markets, positioning it to launch services across Europe, Asia, and North America.

Florian Reuter, CEO, Volocopter, said, "Today marks an exciting milestone as we unify DG Flugzeugbau's leadership in aviation production with Volocopter's pioneering UAM goals to establish yet another crucial stepping-stone for our collective global endeavors."

As part of this acquisition agreement, Volocopter will integrate DG Flugzeugbau's aircraft production segment and EASA Part 21G POA. The entire team of highly specialized manufacturing experts will join Volocopter's production and workshop teams. Another part of the acquisition agreement is to continue to honour existing sailplane production contracts, under the new ownership.

Holger Back, CEO, DG Aviation, said, "We see the future in these aircraft and are excited to combine a section of our company with Volocopter to invest in the future of sustainable aviation while continuing our tradition of building gliders and maintaining aircraft."

The production facilities are located in Bruchsal near Volocopter's headquarters and support serial production.

Together with DG Flugzeugbau, Volocopter designed and built the VC200, the first electrically powered multicopter to receive a permit to fly it in 2016 and flew this model autonomously in Dubai in 2017 and on stage at the 2018 CES in Las Vegas. Since then, the two companies have partnered to produce the Volocopter 2X, the VoloDrone, and the VoloCity.

The remaining part of the former DG Flugzeugbau is being transitioned into the newly founded DG Aviation. With their Maintenance Organisation Part CAO and their Design Organisation Part-21J, they will continue developing and maintaining aircraft and will give complete support for DG and LS gliders.