Lilium Jet

Lilium Jet
Lilium Jet cabin demonstrator
Role eVTOL
National origin Germany
Manufacturer Lilium GmbH
Status Under development

The Lilium Jet is a prototype German electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) electrically powered airplane designed by Lilium GmbH.[1] A seven-seat production version is planned.[2]

History

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Initial design studies included forward-folding wings, so that the aircraft could be piloted as a VTOL and recharge in only few hours from a standard 240 V electrical outlet. A first half-scale demonstrator, Falcon, flew in 2015. The unmanned first flight of the two-seat Eagle full size prototype was on 20 April 2017 at the Mindelheim-Mattsies airfield, Bavaria, Germany.[3]

Unmanned flight testing of the five-seat Lilium Jet took place at Oberpfaffenhofen airfield near Munich. It first flew in May 2019.[4][5] By October 2019, after 100 flights, it could transition from vertical to horizontal flight, reaching over 100 km/h (54 kn), but not yet fully horizontal. It managed 25° banked turns, high ascent/descent rates like in operations, hover turns and sideward translations. Electrical, fan and flap failures were mitigated by the electrical and flight control systems.

The first prototype was destroyed by fire during maintenance on 27 February 2020. A second partially-constructed prototype was undamaged.[6] A further unfinished prototype was abandoned, and work begun on a seven-seat version.[7]

On 18 July 2024 Saudia Group and Lilium N.V. signed a binding sales agreement for 50 Lilium Jets, with options for the purchase of 50 more.[8] At the end of October 2024 the Lilium GmbH has conceded insolvency. Lilium's situation was triggered by the denial of a guarantee for a 50 million-euro loan from the Kreditanstalt guaranteed by the State of Bavaria.[9]


In September 2024, Lilium debuted its fully electric Lilium Jet in the U.S. market, with its first showcase taking place on September 26. The Houston-based aircraft brokerage, EMCJET, unveiled the jet at Galaxy FBO, a facility that is collaborating with Lilium to support the jet's accessibility at locations in the Houston area. Lilium is also working with the Greater Houston Partnership to facilitate a discussion with industry leaders about how electric aviation could transform regional travel in the Houston region.[10]

Design

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The Lilium Jet uses multiple relatively small ducted propellers driven by electric motors to provide lift during take-off and landing, as well as thrust during the cruise phase. Lilium says that it refers to the propulsion system as a "jet" because the propellers are enclosed in nacelles.[11] The production Lilium Jet is intended to accommodate six passengers and one pilot. It is powered by 36 electric motors, six on each of the two front canards and twelve on each rear wing. The motors are installed above twelve tiltable rear flaps. The drive-carrying flaps pivot downwards for vertical launch.[12] At the transition to the horizontal position, forward thrust is generated. This is claimed to be significantly more economical than a conventional rotorcraft, however the propulsion configuration generates very high disc loading and power-delivery requirements significantly exceeding the leading competitive eVTOL designs.[13]

Lilium invested in Ionblox for its silicon-dominant anode battery technology, which it believes offers uniquely high energy and power density (12C with 3.8 kW/kG at 50% charge and 3.0 kW/kG at 30%) needed for hover and take-off phases, even at low charge levels.[14]

The target range is 280 km (150 nmi). Its 36 electric ducted fans are powered by a 1 MW (1,300 hp) lithium-ion battery; less than 200 hp (150 kW) is required to cruise.[15]

Specifications

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Data from Lilium GmbH / Electric VTOL News by the Vertical Flight Society[16]

General characteristics

  • Capacity: 2-seater: 2 passengers, 200 kg (440 lb), 5-seater: 5 passengers (flown unmanned), 7-seater: 1 pilot, 6 passengers
  • Empty weight: 970 lb (440 kg) 5-seater: 1,300 kg (2,900 lb), 7-seater: 3,100 kg (6,800 lb)
  • Max takeoff weight: 1,411 lb (640 kg)
  • Powerplant: 36 × Vertical Electric 320 kW total installed power

Performance

  • Maximum speed: 190 mph (300 km/h, 160 kn)
  • Cruise speed: 170 mph (280 km/h, 150 kn)
  • Range: 190 mi (300 km, 160 nmi)

Usage

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The Lilium GmbH plans to found an air taxi service for urban air mobility and Advanced Air Mobility with the Lilium Jet.[17] The company expects that pilots will be needed for around 10 years until autonomous flights can take over.[15]

Award

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In October 2019 the Lilium five-seater Jet received a Red Dot Award: Design Concept for “Best of the Best”.[18]

See also

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Related development

Related lists

References

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  1. ^ Hodgetts, Rob (25 April 2017). "Successful test flight brings Lilium electric air taxis closer to reality". CNN.
  2. ^ "Lilium announces intention to list on Nasdaq through a merger with Qell Acquisition Corp., and reveals development of its 7-Seater electric vertical take-off and landing jet | Lilium N.V." ir.lilium.com. Retrieved 21 April 2022.
  3. ^ Andrew J. Hawkins (6 April 2017). "Watch this all-electric 'flying car' take its first test flight in Germany". theverge. Retrieved 30 April 2019.
  4. ^ "Lilium unveils five-seater air taxi prototype after a successful maiden flight for its latest jet". techcrunch. 16 May 2019.
  5. ^ "Five seater self-flying air taxi unveiled". BBC. 16 May 2019.
  6. ^ "Investigation launched as Lilium Jet prototype is destroyed by fire". FlightGlobal. 2 March 2020. Retrieved 2 March 2020.
  7. ^ "Lilium's New Course: On Verge of Going Public, It's Working on a Bigger Air Taxi. Can It Deliver?". Forbes.
  8. ^ "Saudia Group Signs Industry-Leading Sales Agreement With Lilium to Acquire Up to 100 eVTOL Jets". Media Release. Munich: Lilium GmbH. 18 July 2024. Retrieved 18 July 2024.
  9. ^ https://www.aopa.org/news-and-media/all-news/2024/october/30/lilium-insolvent
  10. ^ "Lilium Jet makes debut in U.S." Globalair.com. 30 September 2024. Retrieved 9 October 2024.
  11. ^ Wiegand, Daniel (2014). "Vertical take-off aircraft". patents.google.com. Retrieved 16 January 2022.
  12. ^ Lilium (6 August 2018). "Simplicity was our Most Complicated Goal". lilium. Retrieved 30 April 2019.
  13. ^ Technology behind Lilium Jet lilium.com Archived 2023-03-08 at the Wayback Machine
  14. ^ Blain, Loz (13 February 2023). "The extraordinary batteries Lilium will use for its odd eVTOL approach". New Atlas. Retrieved 13 February 2023.
  15. ^ a b Graham Warwick, ed. (28 October 2019). "The Week In Technology, Oct. 28-Nov. 1, 2019". Aviation Week & Space Technology.
  16. ^ "Lilium Jet". eVtol news. 15 April 2017.
  17. ^ Maija Palmer (19 February 2019). "Lilium's flying taxi service: clear for takeoff?". sifted.eu. Archived from the original on 11 April 2020. Retrieved 18 October 2018.
  18. ^ "Lilium jet awarded prestigious 'Best of the Best' Red Dot design award". Robotics & Automation News. 30 July 2019. Retrieved 8 January 2020.
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