AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2020 - 40

PILOT BRIEFING

FUTURE FLIGHT |

Lilium Jet
Jet power in an eVTOL
BY THOMAS A. HORNE

AMONG THE BURGEONING crop of nascent
eVTOL designs, the Lilium Jet may be
the most unusual. Yes, the canard-configuration, five-seat, fixed-gear Lilium
Jet derives its power from batteries, but
its thrust comes from what the company
calls electric jet engines-36 of them, to
be exact. These are mounted in ducts
within the trailing edges of four articulating flap-like structures. For vertical
takeoffs, the flaps can be positioned vertically so that their thrust can be aimed
downward. Once in the air, they transition
to the horizontal for forward flight. This
makes the Lilium Jet something different.
Unlike some tiltrotor eVTOL designs, the
Lilium Jet is in a class of its own-a tiltjet, maybe?
The Munich-based Lilium company
was founded in 2015 and its CEO and

40 | AOPA PILOT September 2020

managing director, Daniel Wiegand, says
the Lilium Jet was designed with safety
and simplicity in mind. There's no tail, no
rudder, no water cooling, no propellers,
multiple levels of redundancy to keep it in
the air in case of engine failure, and a ballistic parachute for the worst situations.
The engines have just one moving part-
the rotating fan blades-and require no
maintenance.
A full-scale, unmanned, remote-controlled prototype first flew in 2017. Initially,
the plan is for a pilot to control the aircraft,
but the ultimate goal is autonomous flight.
The cabin has two front seats, three back
seats, and baggage area at the rear.
Lilium is mysterious when it comes to
certain details but allows that the jet will
have low noise levels, a top speed of 162
knots, and a maximum range of 162 nm.

It will be as energy-efficient per kilometer as an electrically powered car, Lilium
says, but travel five times as fast. Apart
from that, we're left with our imaginations.
I once planned a visit to headquarters but
was told, "There's nothing to see here."
However, the company has been in the
news lately. It has reportedly raised $340
million in funding. Entry into service is
planned for 2025.
Lilium's business plan includes its
own air taxi service. Like Uber, customers
would use an app to call up a ride, meet
the aircraft at a rooftop or other suitable
landing pad, and be whisked away. Check
out the website for some cool videos of a
test flight.
lilium.com

EMAIL tom.horne@aopa.org


http://www.lilium.com

AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2020

Contents
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2020 - Intro
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2020 - Cover1
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2020 - Cover2
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2020 - Contents
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2020 - 2
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2020 - 3
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2020 - 4
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2020 - 5
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AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2020 - Cover3
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2020 - Cover4
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