Lilium Jet – Flight testing continues at pace.

The Lilium Jet project has been in development since 2015 in Munich. According to their website, Lilium has attracted $375m in funding to date and currently (as of mid-2020) has over 500 employees.

With a plan including “Vertiports”, the Lilium Jet expects to be no louder than an electric car on the ground although expects to be as loud as a “passing truck” on take-off.

The Lilium Jet has 36 individual motors and four wings for directional flight control. Lilium are planning to certify and manufacture to the same regulatory standards as today’s commercial aircraft.

Carrying four passengers and with one pilot, the Lilium Jet is hoping to achieve 300km/h top speed and fly for about an hour – hence the tag: “All-electric regional air mobility”. Lilium are planning to formally launch commercial operations no later than 2025.

The electric aircraft and VTOL space is highly competitive, even in today’s COVID-19 world where commercial air travel is so compromised. A quick look at www.transportup.com gives a good indication as to how challenging this arena will and has already become.

One thing is clear: Lilium’s ambition is impressive.