Back in December, we wrote about Lilium Aviation’s VTOL (vertical take-off and landing) jet. The company wants the all-electric, zero-emissions vehicle to replace cars, and recently received more than $10 million from Skype founder Niklas Zennström’s Atomico to make that happen.
Lilium’s promise? A test flight in early 2017. But we were promised flying cars in 1968 and again in 1985, so we didn’t hold our breath.
We could have, though. Because the Lilium Jet just completed its maiden flight.
It was resounding success but (as you can see in their video above), with a vertical take-off and landing as smooth as the gold bars being put into their CEO’s bank vault as we speak. The only downside? The flight was unmanned.
That’s right, at this stage they basically have a giant drone, though its size and ability to transition from hovering to forward flight in mid-air are astounding. According to their website, the company wants to complete a manned flight by 2019. During the next two years, they will be expanding this two-seat Eagle prototype into the five-seat versions they plan to put into production as flying taxis.
They hope to have these ride-sharing jets at your disposal by 2025. We’d put money on that.
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