Video: German EV air taxi airborne

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lojpe3lUdFk

German air taxi start-up Lilium has finished first stage flight testing on its five-seater 36-rotor electric prototype.

The milestone was reached less than six months after the test started, the vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) emissions-free aircraft getting up to 100km/h at an airfield in southern Germany.

It’s expected to complete journeys of up to 300km in one hour on a single charge.

New footage reveals, for the first time, the aircraft transitioning from vertical flight to level flight. This signature manoeuvre, first completed just weeks after the aircraft’s maiden flight, is one of aerospace’s greatest challenges and is what gives the Lilium Jet its significant range advantage, with its two sets of wings contributing to much higher levels of efficiency than in aircraft lifted solely by rotors.

The company also celebrated the completion of its first dedicated manufacturing facility, a 3000 square meter space at the company’s headquarters which will soon be complemented by a second, much larger, facility under construction at the same site.

Combined, they will support Lilium’s aim of producing hundreds of aircraft a year by the time commercial services begin in 2025.

Lilium also announced an addition to its senior management team, with Airbus veteran Yves Yemsi joining as chief program officer, having worked as program quality head for the highly successful Airbus A350 aircraft.

“It’s been thrilling to watch the Lilium Jet progress so rapidly and to see our first flying taxi manufacturing facility,” Lilium co-founder and chief executive officer Daniel Wiegand says.

“We are taking tangible and concrete steps towards making our vision of regional air mobility a reality and we’re doing it on time.

“We believe that regional air mobility has the potential to be a remarkable force for good in society and we can’t wait for what comes next.”

Meanwhile, work on getting Zephyr Airworks’ eVTOL Cora air taxi ready for everyday flight to everyone is a step closer with October’s announcement by the New Zealand Government that it is establishing trials to support the safe testing and development of advanced unmanned aircraft to accelerate their integration into airspace.

The Integrated Airspace Trials build on the potential for innovation under New Zealand’s Civil Aviation rules, and advances New Zealand’s vision for a thriving, innovative and safe aviation system.

Canterbury-based Cora, which will use self-flying software combined with human oversight to make flying possible for people without training, is the first industry partner in the trial and has been operating since 2017.