Munich-based start-up Lilium has revealed its new five-seater air taxi prototype for the first time. The unveiling of the new Lilium Jet came as the all-electric aircraft completed its maiden flight over Germany earlier this month.
The jet has a top speed of 300 km/h and a range of 300km.
Daniel Wiegand, co-founder and CEO, says: “Today we are taking another huge step towards making urban air mobility a reality. In less than two years we have been able to design, build and successfully fly an aircraft that will serve as our template for mass production. Moving from two to five seats was always our ambition as it enables us to open up the skies to many more travellers.”
He adds: “The Lilium Jet itself is beautiful and we were thrilled to see it take to the skies for the first time. With the perfect balance of range and speed, our aircraft has the potential to positively impact the way people choose to live and travel, all over the world.”
The Lilium Jet first took to the air on 4th May 2019, having completed extensive ground testing in Munich.
Leandro Bigarella, Head of Flight Test, says: “While a maiden flight is always a moment of truth for a business, the Lilium Jet performed exactly as expected and responded well to our inputs. Our flight test program will now continue with increasingly complex maneuvers as we look towards our next big goal of achieving transition flight, which is when the aircraft moves seamlessly from vertical to horizontal flight.”
The company says it expects the jet to be fully-operational in various cities around the world by 2025.
Great. However, we should beware of actually adding more vehicles to the total number of vehicles, in this case: one for within cities, and one for outside city limits. A smaller or sleeker vehicle can be a “fits most occasions”. As seen in this picture (click):
https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-KDsMXGBe6pM/XKddsoL0oJI/AAAAAAAAKH0/XX8ZVBAxO_ksEJhzdOqyhJYnbOESj7pXACLcBGAs/s900/Copy%2Bof%2Btwo%2Bsevs%2B%25284%2529.jpg
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