Lilium Aviation has unveiled the Lilium Jet, a futuristic flying car that takes of and lands vertically.

A Munich-based aviation company has developed the world’s first electric vertical take-⁠off and landing jet. The Lilium Jet is essentially a flying car in the futuristic sense of the word. In a recent demonstration Lilium Aviation demonstrated the craft’s abilities and potential for future transportation. The Lilium Jet’s wings span 10 meters and the all-electric flying car is powered by 36 jet engines that can take it to an impressive 300 km/h speed range. Lilium sees its jet as an on-demand air taxi that will allow access to inner cities while producing less noise than a motorcycle.

Lilium Jet: Your On-Demand Air Taxi

The Lilium Jet can take-off and land vertically in a similar way to helicopters. The aircraft then uses forward thrust to travel vertically once airborne. In a recent video, the aviation firm showed off its jet doing just that. Lilium Aviation claims it’s jet can achieve distances of up to 300 kilometers, or 183 miles. Consequently, the company claims that its vehicle uses up to 90 percent less energy than similar aircraft.

” The concept is that we are lifting with our wings as soon as we progress into the air with velocity. As a result, this makes our airplane very efficient. Compared to other flights, we have extremely low power consumption.” Patrick Nathen, co-founder of Lilium Jet told THE VERGE recently.

As mentioned above, Lilium sees its flying car as a viable and green solution to intercity travel. The concept is that the Lilium jet can function as an on demand air taxi for travel between towns and cities. For example, with Lilium’s jet a trip between London and Paris would only take an hour. The aircraft’s top speeds of 300 km/hr are similar to those achieved by modern Formula 1 cars. Most noteworthy, its all electric power means emission and noise pollution-free commuting.

The jet recently took its maiden flight, with a 2 seater prototype executing a number of maneuvers mid-flight. Check out the Lilium Jet in action in the video below:

 

Lilium’s Vision: The Future of Urban Transportation

Such numbers are achievable thanks to Lilium Jet’s batteries, which are similar to those used in Tesla cars. The vehicle is intended for use as an autonomous drone/ flying taxi although any flights undertaken by the the aviation startup are all currently manned by human pilots. Passengers will be able to summon a jet and be taken to the nearest landing pad situated around where they want to go.

Whether Lilium Aviation’s flying jet will ever hit urban areas around the world is still up for debate. While there has been a lot of advances and prototypes touted, its difficult to see how flying cars would function in cities and towns. In addition, such future transportation methods will be fighting for airspace with drones, given current trends!

That is not to say, however that such groundbreaking tech should not be developed. Other examples include Dubai’s Flying Taxi, which is soon to start ferrying passengers in the city.  Another similar vehicle is the Aeromobile flying car, in addition to Pop. UP, – a recently announced concept from Airbus. Uber is also reportedly working on its own version of a lying taxi, so there is a lot of development going on in the space at the moment.

In our view, we’d certainly love to live in a futuristic cities where flying cars such as the Lilium Jet buzz around in the sky. In any case, the jets whisper quite engines would mean it would fly by virtually unnoticed. Hence, long may the innovation continue.