Not sure if the designer ever heard of the KISS principle, but only it's mother could love it.....
AW&ST:
Volocopter - Safety and Simplicity in Numbers
A strange, 16-propeller vertical take-off and landing craft has been awarded the Lindberg Prize for Innovation at the Aero-Friedrichshafen 2012 airshow in Germany. It is an example of the unusual configurations made possible by distributed electric propulsion.
The VC1 was first flown by Karlsruhe-based e-volo in October 2011 as a proof of concept for its Volocopter, an aircraft that uses multiple small, electric-powered, fixed-pitch propellers for lift and flight control. The array of battery-driven props provide redundancy for safety and are individually controlled via a fly-by-wire system to provide flight control via differential power by varying motor rotational speed in response to joystick inputs.
The single-seat, four-armed VC1 measures 17ft x 17ft and weighs 80kg empty, and could fly for about 20 minutes on current battery technology, says e-volo. The company is now designing a two-seat VTOL aircraft, the Volocopter VC Evolution 2P, that mounts its 18 props and motors on an umbrella-like structure above the helicopter-style fuselage. The aircraft is being designed to comply with European ultra-light (ULM) regulations.
[IMG]Fitted with a pusher propeller for forward flight, this aircraft will have a take-off weight of 450kg, speed exceeding 54kt (100km/h), altitude capability of at least 6,500ft and a flight time of more than an hour thanks to a serial hybrid power system - with a "range-extender" internal-combustion engine that will recharge the batteries in flight.[/IMG]
Awarding the prize to e-volvo, Erik Lindbergh (Charles Lindbergh's grandson) said: "We believe that the development of the Volocopter holds significant promise to radically change short-distance transportation." The Lindbergh Foundation's prizes are intended to promote advances in green aviation.