Lilium is partnering with Honeywell on the avionics and flight control systems for its seven-seat Lilium Jet, and Honeywell will also be investing in the German eVTOL developer, the companies announced June 9.
According to a press release, Honeywell’s compact fly-by-wire system will act as the flight control system for Lilium’s production eVTOL aircraft, responsible for directing the 36 ducted fans in its wings that provide the Lilium Jet with both thrust and control. Honeywell is already supplying its fly-by-wire system to other eVTOL developers including Pipistrel, for the Nuuva V300 cargo drone, and Vertical Aerospace, for the VA-X4 air taxi.
Honeywell will also provide an integrated avionics system for the Lilium Jet, with a simplified user interface designed to reduce training time and support operation by a single pilot.
“The avionics and flight control computers from Honeywell will be a key element for the Lilium Jet’s electronic architecture,” stated Lilium chief program officer Yves Yemsi. “Honeywell will integrate an advanced flight deck tailored for Lilium Jet as the central interface to the pilot with a vehicle management computer and a high integrity flight controls computing platform to provide a state-of-the-art fly-by-wire solution for the Lilium Jet.”
Additionally, Honeywell will participating in the common stock private investment in public equity (PIPE) offering associated with Lilium’s merger with the blank-check company Qell Acquisition Corp. The amount of Honeywell’s investment was not disclosed. Previously announced contributors to a $450 million PIPE include Baillie Gifford, funds and accounts managed by BlackRock, Tencent, Ferrovial, LGT and Lightrock, Palantir, FII Institute, and private funds affiliated with PIMCO.
“At Honeywell, we believe in the promise of the urban air mobility segment and we see the enormous potential it has to bring about a new age of aviation and forever transform the way we think about flight and transportation,” stated Stéphane Fymat, vice president and general manager of Urban Air Mobility, Honeywell. “Lilium shares that vision with us, which has enabled us to forge a fantastic relationship.”
I’m happy to read that Lilium is partnering with a trusted company like Honeywell.