A GERMAN company has plans to sell a new type of aircraft in the United States.
Lilium is an aircraft manufacturer based in Gauting, Germany that has big plans in the United States.
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The company said it wants to be the first to sell electric vertical takeoff and landing (or eVTOL for short) aircraft in the US.
In order to carry out its vision, the company has teamed up with a Texas-based aviation dealer called EMC Jet.
The 30-roto electric aircraft will be able to seat four comfortably and is meant to serve as a helicopter replacement.
It will cater to a specific corporate demographic, the company told The Verge.
“These are folks who already have or utilize private jet service, who are looking for ways to connect potentially from their airport to their office or to their private residence or who have frequent regional transportation needs,” said Matthew Broffman, head of partnerships and network in Lilium’s US-based office.
“It’s a great helicopter replacement,” he added.
The company is pricing the Pioneer jets, which can cover around 110 miles, at around $10 million.
In addition, the aircraft features 30 tilt-rotors and can reach elevations of around 10,000 feet.
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Lilium explained that the technology at the core of the Lilium Jet is Ducted Electric Vectored Thrust (DEVT).
The electric jet engines are integrated into the wing flaps and provide a number of advantages.
These include increased payload, aerodynamic efficiency, and a lower noise profile.
They also “provide thrust vector control to maneuver the Lilium Jet through every phase of flight.”
However, these “air taxes,” as they have been dubbed, still have not been approved for flight in the US.
Most importantly, it needs to get the certification required to get its aircraft off the ground.
It also needs a more reliable revenue stream — “or any revenue at all, really — so it can keep its operations afloat until aviation regulators give it the green light for takeoff,” The Verge noted.
Still, the company remains optimistic that it will soon have air taxis flying around in the United States.
“I think it is a huge step and really something that we ought to be celebrating as an industry: having orders… with payments tied to them being received for eVTOL aircraft,” Broffman said.
This post first appeared on Thesun.co.uk
