The Lilium Jet, which aims to become the world's first on-demand air taxi and ride-sharing air aircraft in 2025, attained a successful three-minute test flight that tested controllability with banked turns in transition flight.
A video of the test flight held October 1 was released over the weekend by German air mobility startup Lilium GmbH, which is developing Lilium Jet. This aircraft is a vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) all-electric commuter plane. It's powered by 36 electric motors and can travel 300 kilometers in 60 minutes at 300 km/h. It seats four passengers and a pilot.
Lilium Jet is unique because it uses electric power for both vertical take-off and in the jet-powered components of its engine system. It relies completely on 100 percent renewable electric power for propulsion. Lilium said its Lilium Jet is the only electric aircraft capable of both vertical take-off and jet-powered flight.
Lilium GmbH intends to launch its on-demand air taxi and ride-sharing service by smartphone app in 2025. It will launch this service in New York City.
During the October 1 test, the Lilium Jet achieved figure-eight flight, turning left at a 20 degree angle of bank (AoB) for a 90 degree heading change, according to the company. It continued to an AoB of 30 degrees before banking right for landing.
The Lilium Jet climbed 300 feet per minute and accelerated to a modest speed of 65 km/h. It descended at the same rate (300 feet per minute). The company says its next test flights will see Lilium Jet accelerate to higher speeds towards its goal of reaching the 100 km/h (60 mph) milestone.
It said the second testing phase of Lilium Jet will focus on completing a full transition to wing-borne flight. Lilium says this transition is particularly challenging bcause it means passing through a zone where the airflow will detach and reattach to the control surfaces.
Lilium is developing what it calls the "world's five-seater, all-electric, vertical take-off and landing jet," along with an on-demand air mobility service via smartphone app. The company recently announced Lilium Jet has flowm 300 km (186 miles) in one hour on a single charge at speeds exceeding 100 km/h. It also announced the completion of its first dedicated manufacturing facility that will build the electric passenger plane.
"It's been thrilling to watch the Lilium Jet progress so rapidly and to see our first flying taxi manufacturing facility," said Lilium co-founder and CEO Daniel Wiegand. "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."
In 2017, Wiegand said Lilium Jet might one day offer passenger flights at prices comparable to normal taxis but at speeds up to five times faster. He said Lilium Jet's power consumption per kilometer is comparable to that of an electric car.
Lilium said Lilium Jet is based on a transition aircraft concept. It wants an electric VTOL with better performance in safety, speed, range and payload than existing concepts, while cutting complexity by a third.
Lilium then "invented a completely new aircraft concept for the modern age. Transition aircraft can fly three times faster and ten times further with an equally sized battery, but system complexity is usually much higher."
