Charles Alcock is managing editor of the AIN Media Group, having rejoined the company in 2019. He has been an aviation journalist since 1986, and previously worked for AIN from 1990 to 2017, most recently as editor-in-chief. His main focus is on covering new aviation technology and business models, as well as international news.
Having been raised in the London area, Alcock studied at the University of Manchester in the UK and earned an honors degree in Politics and Modern History. He speaks English and French, and some German.

Managing Editor

Charles Alcock

ERC System is preparing to start flight testing with a full-mass technology demonstrator for its multi-role aircraft. The German company is completing assembly of a second version of the Romeo vehicle as it advances ambitions to bring it to market in 2030.
Later this year, ERC expects to confirm suppliers for alternative all-electric and hybrid-electric propulsion systems for the lift-and-cruise design, supporting range, respectively, of up to 200 kilometers (109 nm) and 800 kilometers (435 nm). The company intends to offer piloted and remotely-piloted versions of the production aircraft, which could be used for both VTOL and conventional takeoff and landing operations.
According to ERC’s chief commercial officer, Max Oligschläger, the initial market focus is on prospective governmental and public service use cases that could include emergency medical support and military logistics. “This aircraft will have a very different price point [to existing aircraft],” he told AIN. “The timing is fortunate because we know we can deliver lower operating costs at a time when operators say they are suffering with high costs.”
The aircraft’s architecture features eight vertical lift propellers installed along booms connecting the wing to the tail, as well as a pair of wing-mounted propellers for horizontal cruise flight. ERC anticipates that it will deliver a 500-kilogram (1,110-pound) payload in a design that offers a cabin volume of 5.2 cubic meters (184 cubic feet) with a square-shaped clamshell door that has dimensions of 1.4 meters (4 feet 7 inches).
ERC was founded in 2020 with financial backing from German aerospace group IABG and its chairman and owner, Rudolf Schwarz. The company, which has just over 60 employees of more than 17 different nationalities, has also been supported with technical expertise from the emergency medical flight organization DRF Luftrettung and the Technical University of Munich.
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<img alt="ERC System aircraft model" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="1dbc6737-691a-4faf-bffd-872ff88f33fc" src="/sites/default/files/inline-images/ERC%20model%202.JPG" width="4032" height="3024" loading="lazy">
<figcaption>ERC System displayed a model of its planned emergency medical support aircraft at the Paris Air Show.</figcaption>
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In 2022, it started ground testing with the earlier Echo technology demonstrator, which had a mass of just over 2,700 kilograms (5,940 pounds), and then moved on to hover tests in 2023. Lessons from this stage of the program informed the design of the Romeo aircraft, for which an initial X1 version was rolled out in 2024.
The ERC team has already started conceptual development work for the production aircraft, which will be called Charlie. At the Paris Air Show in June, it displayed a scale model of the design, which attracted a lot of interest.

News and developments about airplanes, helicopters and unmanned air vehicles used in all varieties of operations, including airlines, military, business, commercial, general aviation and private.

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