German eVTOL developer Lilium has announced it has restarted its flight test program at the Atlas Flight Test Center in Spain, using its fifth-generation Phoenix 2 technology demonstrator.
Lilium announced last year that it was moving its flight test program from southern Germany to Spain, which the company said provides “excellent weather conditions” over a large, unpopulated area.
The eVTOL developer has since received the greenlight from Spanish authorities to resume its campaign, where Lilium plans to expand its flight test envelope to include full transition between hovering and wing-borne flight, as well as high-speed flight.
Lilium also previously announced it would be adding an additional Phoenix 3 demonstrator aircraft to its flight test program this summer to help accelerate its campaign.
“We are excited to have kicked off our next phase of flight testing in Spain,” said Daniel Wiegand, co-founder and CEO of Lilium, in a press release. “This step takes us even closer to reaching our goal of creating a sustainable and accessible mode of high-speed, low-noise regional air mobility.”
Wiegand announced to shareholders last week that the company has extended its type certification timeline to 2025. This is based on its current design activity status to develop a safe aircraft, its discussions with regulators, and the global supply chain disruption.
The company was originally targeting 2024 to receive its type certification from the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA).
It’s eVTOL… and a plane… BUT IT IS NOT A CAR. SO IT’S AN EXPENSIVE TOY… NOT A SOLUTION TO TRANSPORTATION FOR THE MASSES. YOUR MARKET… THE WEALTHY. hmmmmm SO MUCH FOR GREEN CLEAN CLIMATE CHANGE. Cool technology. I’ll give you that. If you want to look at a free VTOL / CAR / Plane… let me know.
“Airplanes are interesting toys, but of no military value.“ — Ferdinand Foch, 1911. Boy, was he ever wrong.
“…an expensive toy…not a solution to transportation for the masses.” ~David Beckes, 2022. We’ll see.
the first test should be to pull power (at altitude) -if it plummets like a brick -call it all off , abort the program it is inherently unsafe . If it loses all control (control being power dependent ) call it off – abort as unsafe. It it loses all visibility in hover over a dusty Spanish field -call it off , abort as unsafe. (see XC142 VTOL tests or helicopter brown out accidents ) –common sense ‘show stopper’ defects easily shown before wasting more money or lives.
Sounds like a couple of sour grapes comments here. I for one am eagerly awaiting the results of Lilium’s test flight results and think that they have the best-looking design I’ve seen on the market.
I agree with Tim. Lilium is one of a kind, and one day soon it will pay off. I feel it…