Results for: lilium
Lilium Selects London for its Software Engineering Base
19 June 2019 ||
3
min read
Air taxi company Lilium has officially selected London to host its software engineering and development team. Lilium is a well-known aspiring air taxi company famous for developing the Lilium Jet. Although its headquarters are in Munich, Lilium recently announced its decision to build a software engineering base in London. Lilium believes this new software base will create hundreds of jobs in London...
Read More
Lilium Selects London for its Software Engineering Base
19 June 2019 ||
3
min read
Air taxi company Lilium has officially selected London to host its software engineering and development team.
The Lilium Jet air taxi
Lilium is a well-known aspiring air taxi company famous for developing the Lilium Jet. Although its headquarters are in Munich, Lilium recently announced its decision to build a software engineering base in London. Lilium believes this new software base will create hundreds of jobs in London over the next five years.
Lilium is one of the primary air taxi companies in the UK, looking to begin commercial services in 2025. The company is not only developing its own jet, but is also building the entire eVTOL network including Skyports, day-to-day operations technology, and the mobile application for users.
Conceptual rendering of a Lilium Skyport in London
Along with this announcement, Lilium also announced new team members. These include Carlos Morgado, former CTO at Just Eat, and Anja Maassen van den Brink of VodafoneZiggo. At the new London base, Mordago will assist in forming the new engineering team as Vice President of Digital Technology, while Maassen will work as the new CPO (Chief People Officer). The company also hired Luca Benassi as chief development engineer, who previously worked at NASA, Boeing, and Airbus.
This announcement comes shortly after Lilium revealed the new, larger version of its eVTOL jet, now capable of carrying five passengers. Just last month, the new jet could be seen completing a successful hover flight. Watch that flight here.
“We are one of very few companies in our sector that wants to both produce air taxis and then operate them day-to-day. Today’s announcement and the recruitment of these three new leaders underlines our continuous efforts to build the very best team in air mobility. We are hiring the best of the best from a global talent base, forming the basis for achieving our target of becoming the leading air mobility company.” –Lilium CEO Daniel Wiegand
The potential for Lilium air taxi operations in the UK
Why it’s important: Notably, Lilium is one of the few UAM companies building both an aircraft itself and the operations and infrastructure for customer use. Although this is an ambitious task, Lilium has already added executives from Rollls-Royce Aerospace, Airbus, Audi, and more. While the company certainly has its work cut out, the highly capable team is likely to fulfill its vision.
Lilium’s 36-Engine Air Taxi Completes First Test Flight
18 May 2019 ||
4
min read
Munich-based air taxi startup Lilium has now flown a five-seat version of their electric vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) aircraft. With the help of top engineers and business professionals from the automotive and aerospace industries, Lilium has been flying a two-seater prototype for over two years now. However, it was just earlier this month that the full-scale version, which is...
Read More
Lilium’s 36-Engine Air Taxi Completes First Test Flight
18 May 2019 ||
4
min read
Munich-based air taxi startup Lilium has now flown a five-seat version of their electric vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) aircraft. With the help of top engineers and business professionals from the automotive and aerospace industries, Lilium has been flying a two-seater prototype for over two years now. However, it was just earlier this month that the full-scale version, which is intended for mass production, took flight.
The Lilium jet features a propulsion system much different than you’d see in your typical commercial jet – it uses not two, not four, but 36 electric jet engines to provide a maximum of 2000 horsepower. These engines tilt on the flaps of the aircraft for vertical thrust throughout takeoff and landing, then rotate to a horizontal orientation for cruise, during which they draw only 10 percent of the maximum output of the electric motors.
For more technical specifications of the Lilium Jet, visit the Hangar.
While Lilium is the original equipment manufacturer (OEM) for the five-seat air taxi, the company also plans to operate a network of ride-sharing aircraft in a similar fashion to Uber; vehicles will be requested via a smartphone app. Lilium intends to use a fleet of their jets to transport customers around metropolitan areas and between neighboring cities as a faster, less traffic-riddled alternative to automotive transportation. While the price of this service is not expected to be comparable to an UberX or other car ridesharing, it is promised to save the customer time. For example, the flight from Manhattan to JFK – a route that VTOL aircraft operator, BLADE, already flies – takes only six minutes, compared to around an hour by car.
Photo // Lilium
Additionally, the regional flights Lilium plans to offer are predicted to be priced comparably to current commercial flights, but will likely be more environmentally friendly due to the production of zero emissions with the use of electric motors. Researchers at the University of Michigan found that flying cars prove to be more energy efficient than gasoline powered cars on trips 21 miles or more in length. The Lilium jet ultimately is expected to have a range of nearly 200 miles, making it one of the most capable air taxis coming to the market in the near future.
Also notably, Lilium recently hired former executives from Rolls-Royce, Airbus, Audi, and even Ferrari/BMW.
Why it’s important: The new five-seater iteration of the Lilium jet marks the aircraft’s base design as it moves forward to mass production. Given this, the aircraft is currently undergoing rigorous testing in order to discover any potential for improvements before the design is finalized. The first flight, while seemingly short, takes a major step toward providing an entire fleet that can be hailed at customer’s fingertips.
Sources // The Atlantic; Lilium
Lilium Hires former Rolls-Royce Aerospace Head of Communications
20 December 2018 ||
3
min read
German air taxi company Lilium has added to its team former head of communications at Rolls-Royce Aerospace Oliver Walker-Jones. The team now includes former high-ranking executives from Airbus and Audi, as well as Frank Stephenson, who worked in design at Ferrari, BMW, and MINI. At Rolls-Royce Aerospace, Walker-Jones’ role included acting on the outward-facing aspect of the company as well...
Read More
Lilium Hires former Rolls-Royce Aerospace Head of Communications
20 December 2018 ||
3
min read
German air taxi company Lilium has added to its team former head of communications at Rolls-Royce Aerospace Oliver Walker-Jones. The team now includes former high-ranking executives from Airbus and Audi, as well as Frank Stephenson, who worked in design at Ferrari, BMW, and MINI.
At Rolls-Royce Aerospace, Walker-Jones’ role included acting on the outward-facing aspect of the company as well as internal communications. At Lilium, he will be responsible for much the same thing, but will also focus on helping the business grow globally. This suggests that Lilium has plans to go global rather than just staying local to Germany.
Concept image of a future Lilium vertiport
The addition of Walker-Jones is important to note as Rolls-Royce is working on its own eVTOL design as well. Mr. Walker-Jones’ speaks to his decision to join Lilium:
“We have the chance to inspire and excite people of all ages and backgrounds across the globe and I can’t wait to make the most of that opportunity.”
“I’m genuinely thrilled to be joining a company of world-class engineers, remarkable designers, and top managers, and I look forward to playing my part in telling the Lilium story.”–Oliver Walker-Jones, new Head of Communications at Lilium and former Head of Communications at Rolls-Royce Aerospace
As a reminder, The Lilium Jet is unique in that it is one of the few eVTOLs propelled by jets. The design features two fixed-wings with a total of thirty-six small ducted jet-fans that can tilt between vertical and horizontal flight, giving the Lilium jet one of the sleekest aesthetics on the market. Lilium will soon face the challenge of launching air taxi services globally with a planned launch of 2025.
The Lilium Jet, which flew its maiden test flight in 2017
Why its important: Prior to the hiring of Walker-Jones, Lilium has also recently hired Mirko Reuter, former Head of Automated Driving at Audi, Jakob Waeschenbach, former Head of Equipment Installation at Airbus, and Frank Stephenson, who worked in design at Ferrari, BMW, and MINI. . With these new hires, Lilium shows that it’s serious about taking on the future of on-demand eVTOL flight, and with so many experienced professionals on board, it has continued to position itself well to lead the industry.
Lilium Adds Former Executives From Airbus and Audi
11 November 2018 ||
5
min read
The Lilium air taxi is getting closer to market. It recently hired Mirko Reuter, former head of Automated Driving at Audi, Jakob Waeschenbach, former head of Equipment Installation at Airbus, and Rochus Moenter, former Vice President of Finance and Leasing at Airbus. Lilium is a German company based out of Munich. Its air taxi design is one of the sleekest on the market, and...
Read More
Lilium Adds Former Executives From Airbus and Audi
11 November 2018 ||
5
min read
The Lilium air taxi is getting closer to market. It recently hired Mirko Reuter, former head of Automated Driving at Audi, Jakob Waeschenbach, former head of Equipment Installation at Airbus, and Rochus Moenter, former Vice President of Finance and Leasing at Airbus.
Lilium is a German company based out of Munich. Its air taxi design is one of the sleekest on the market, and with over $90 million in funding achieved just last year, its well on its way to being one of the world’s first on demand air taxis.
Mirko Reuter, the new Head of Autonomous Flight at Lilium, was formerly the Head of Automated Driving at Audi. There, he led the development of all automated driving functions, as well as the development of vehicle platforms technologies and future vehicle concepts. At Lilium, he will be responsible for the process of developing the technologies necessarily to bring autonomous flights completely to market.
“I am deeply committed to our mission of creating a revolutionary service that enables effective and affordable transportation that is widely used among all sectors of society. At Lilium, we are building a new and revolutionary way of transport, and I am very excited to be a part of it.” -Mikro Router
Jakob Waeschenbach, formerly the Head of Equipment Installation at Airbus, will be the new Head of Aircraft Assembly at Lilium. Waeschenbach spent years at Airbus ensuring quality in manufacturing, engineering, logistics, supply chain and finance. He also developed Airbus’s new and certified production line of the Single Aisle Family of aircraft. At Lilium, he will “lead the convergence between aircraft and automotive production”, and will assist in establish Lilium’s first production facility.
“I am thrilled to shape the early stages of merging automotive and aircraft production to finally change travelling and commuting in urban spaces. Catching onto this unique momentum is incredibly exciting.” -Jakob Waeschenbach,
Lilium will also be adding Roechus Moenter, who was the former Vice President of Airbus’s Finance and Leasing Group. Moenter will be the General Counsel and Head of Legal for Lilium.
The company is unique in that it plans to be a direct competitor to UberAir. Like Uber Elevate, it plans to roll out its services in 2025. Unlike many of the current eVTOL developers on the market, Lilium has not sought to become a partner for Uber, and instead has opted to develop its own operations and front-end service. Potential routes are Manhattan to JFK and Paris to London.
As a reminder, the Lilium is a eVTOL featuring tilted duct-fans that can travel at speeds up to 300km/h with a 300km range. It’s design features a total of 18 integrated jet engines that can seamlessly transition from horizontal to Vertical flight. Lilium completed it’s maiden flight in April 2017, and Lilium plans to complete it’s first manned test flight in 2019. Read more about the Lilium eVTOL.
Why it’s important:
With this major hire from two big players in vehicle innovation and production, Lilium further marks it’s place as main competitor for air taxi services. With Uber as one of the other biggest companies in the space, Lilium needs to be doing everything it can to put itself at the forefront of the industry, as conveyed by Lilium CEO and co-founder:
“To bring the best talent to Lilium has always been our goal. We are delighted to welcome such a high calibre of new team members that will bring a wealth of expertise in key strategic areas to our growing company and further enable our vision.”
Lilium Jet
21 June 2018 ||
< 1
min read
Quick Summary
The Lilium Jet is an eVTOL designed and manufactured near Munich, Germany. The Jet uses swiveling ducted fans to provide vertical thrust for takeoff and landing. These same fans then slowly rotate towards rear facing as the Jet accelerates and converts to its forward flight mode.
Lilium, a Munich, Germany based company
Daniel Wiegand
Lilium Jet
Stage of Development
Preliminary Design
Prototype Build
Flight Testing
Certification
Commercially Operating
Technical Details
From Lilium's Technical Overview
"At Lilium, we have invented a completely new aircraft concept for the modern age. While vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) itself is not new – after all, quadcopters, tilt rotors and tilt wings are well-known concepts – we did not want to accept the compromises inherent to these configurations.
Quadcopters excel with their simplicity but are highly inefficient in cruise flight. Transition aircraft can fly three times faster and ten times further with an equally sized battery, but system complexity is usually much higher.
So, the goal was set: defining a transition aircraft concept with better performance in safety, noise, speed, range and payload than existing concepts, while cutting complexity to one third.
We challenged physical limitations, mechanical complexity and energy laws, until we came up with something new and unique. Something simple and efficient."
The Jet
The Lilium Jet consists of a rigid winged body with 12 flaps. Each one carries three electric jet engines. Depending on the flight mode, the flaps tilt from a vertical into a horizontal position. At take-off, all flaps are tilted vertical, so that the engines can lift the aircraft. Once airborne, the flaps gradually tilt into a horizontal position, leading the aircraft to accelerate. When they have reached complete horizontal position, all lift necessary to stay aloft is provided by the wings as on a conventional airplane.
One Flap,
Covering it All.
The beauty of this system is its simplicity. In comparison to existing concepts, Lilium Jets require no gearboxes, no foldable or variable pitch propellers, no water-cooling, and no aerodynamic steering flaps. Just tiltable electric engines.
What’s more: The Lilium Jet has the highest possible structural efficiency. As we can provide differential thrust from the engines in cruise flight, no stabilizing tail is necessary.
Efficient and Fast.
The design of the electric engines ensures a very low drag coefficient in cruise flight, leading to a higher speed and range. The energy consumption per seat and kilometer thereby becomes comparable to an electric car – but the jet is 3 times faster.
More Efficiency at Low Speeds.
The Lilium Jet uses an integrated high-lift system. The objective is to increase the lift of the wings even at low speeds to save energy. While hovering is very energy-consuming, as an aircraft must provide thrust equal to its own weight, dynamic lift of wings consumes much less energy to stay aloft. So, it is important to create as much dynamic lift from the wings as possible, even at very low speeds.
Electric Jet Engines
The electric jet engines work like turbofan jet engines in a regular passenger jet. They suck in air, compress it and push it out the back. However, the compressor fan in the front is not turned by a gas turbine, but by a high performance electric motor. Therefore, they run much quieter and completely emission-free.
Our Take on the Lilium Jet
The Lilium Jet is sleek, fast, and successful thus far in flight testing. Lilium has produced (in under 5 years) a very viable prototype eVTOL with a target entry to market of 2025, and a target first manned flight in early 2019. Given their past timeline and rate of progress, both of these goals seem achievable by the German team. Furthermore, the company has gone to great lengths to ensure that their entire experience matches the design paradigms of their eVTOL, and that they make no compromises in safety or the operation of their eVTOL. While keeping relatively quiet in terms of public demonstration flights, the videos depicting flight testing of the Jet are impressive enough on their own and should be a good indicator for future success of the company.
Lilium Adds Frank Stephenson as Head of Product Design
24 April 2018 ||
2
min read
Lilium has added the renowned Frank Stephenson to head their product design. In a news release late Monday, Lilium announced that the car designer, who has worked with Ferrari, MINI, and BMW, would be joining the Lilium Team. “My last job was as high up as you could be in the car design world. The obvious question was – what...
Read More
Lilium Adds Frank Stephenson as Head of Product Design
24 April 2018 ||
2
min read
Lilium has added the renowned Frank Stephenson to head their product design. In a news release late Monday, Lilium announced that the car designer, who has worked with Ferrari, MINI, and BMW, would be joining the Lilium Team. “My last job was as high up as you could be in the car design world. The obvious question was – what next? But it wasn’t one I could easily answer. And then this incredible company came along and it immediately felt like exactly the right move” said Stephenson.
“Throughout my whole career I’ve worked hand in hand with engineers, creating vehicles that will be mechanically efficient and technically effective while also looking beautiful. I will now apply those same principles to this very latest innovation in aviation” he added.
Why it’s important: The draw of big name talent to the flying car industry is a signal that the world’s heavy hitting designers are interested in this emerging field. In terms of notoriety, there are few names that carry more clout than Stephenson’s. The move by Stephenson is further testament to the respect of an industry that is growing globally, and the amount of traction and validity of design the prototypes are being given.
Read the press release here.
Source
- Lillium Press Release
- Image: Getty
ROBOpilot Takes Off in Utah, Paving Way to Fully Automated Flight
18 August 2019 ||
3
min read
The US Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) in partnership with DZYNE Technologies has successfully flown a 2 hour unmanned mission under its Robotic Pilot Unmanned Conversion Program, ROBOpilot. The program aims to provide reversible conversions to existing aircraft platforms. For this test at the Dugway Proving Ground in Utah, a 1968 Cessna 206 completed a simple 2 hour flight with...
Read More
ROBOpilot Takes Off in Utah, Paving Way to Fully Automated Flight
18 August 2019 ||
3
min read
The US Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) in partnership with DZYNE Technologies has successfully flown a 2 hour unmanned mission under its Robotic Pilot Unmanned Conversion Program, ROBOpilot. The program aims to provide reversible conversions to existing aircraft platforms. For this test at the Dugway Proving Ground in Utah, a 1968 Cessna 206 completed a simple 2 hour flight with no humans on board and proved the technology’s abilities. The robot uses sensors, including GPS signals and Inertial Measurement Units to process live data and command the aircraft’s control yoke, rudders, and propulsion systems.
Rear view of the installed ROBOpilot system during preflight for first flight.
“Imagine being able to rapidly and affordably convert a general aviation aircraft, like a Cessna or Piper, into an unmanned aerial vehicle, having it fly a mission autonomously, and then returning it back to its original manned configuration,” says Alok Das, senior scientist with AFRL’s Center for Rapid Innovation. “All of this is achieved without making permanent modifications to the aircraft.”
ROBOpilot would allow for rapid configuration changes between manned and unmanned operation on-board eVTOL platforms of the future. This flexibility would enable operators to complete missions better suited for unmanned flight. Perhaps more importantly, the technology could push the barriers to fully automated eVTOL operation even lower by offering a relatively low-cost solution to test advanced autoflight software for safety and reliability.
ROBOpilot was built and tested under a Direct to Phase II Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) contract. No plans to expand upon the program have been announced yet.
Why it matters: While many early stage OEMs are proposing manned configuration vehicles, labor costs will remain a predominant expense in UAM economics and some mission profiles may benefit from having no pilot (or human) on board. This technology offers great opportunities to test preliminary unmanned systems software in the urban air mobility space and could pave the path to fully automated eVTOL flight. See video below.
Subscribe to TUP
Listen to the TUP Podcast
Hydrogen-Powered ZeroAvia Aircraft Takes Flight
17 August 2019 ||
4
min read
Just this week, Northern California-based startup ZeroAvia joined the likes of Ampaire by operating one of the world’s largest zero-emission aircraft flying without any fossil fuel support. ZeroAvia has exited stealth mode and revealed its design of the hydrogen-fueled electric powertrain inside the plane, which the company has been testing over the past year. While the test flight was actually flown on...
Read More
Hydrogen-Powered ZeroAvia Aircraft Takes Flight
17 August 2019 ||
4
min read
Just this week, Northern California-based startup ZeroAvia joined the likes of Ampaire by operating one of the world’s largest zero-emission aircraft flying without any fossil fuel support.
ZeroAvia has exited stealth mode and revealed its design of the hydrogen-fueled electric powertrain inside the plane, which the company has been testing over the past year. While the test flight was actually flown on electric power, the company says it will run a full test flight with hydrogen on board in a few weeks. By 2022, ZeroAvia plans to “deliver 300-500 mile zero-emission missions in a 10-20 seat fixed wing aircraft to utilize existing infrastructure and simplify regulatory issues.”
Photo // ZeroAvia
ZeroAvia CEO Val Miftakhov articulated that he strongly believes in hydrogren-powered flight, and sees it as a more feasible alternative to battery-powered aircraft. The energy-density of hydrogen fuel cells is claimed to be four times that of the batteries currently available, and could therefore even be adapted to longer range flights for which batteries are not suitable. Additionally, Miftakhov expects hydrogen-powered aircraft to be capable of commerical operations at half the cost of conventional aircraft due to savings on fuel and maintenance. Ampaire also claims a 90% cut in fuel costs and 50% cost in maintenance for their electric aircraft, which is very competitive with Miftakhov’s projections.
Photo // Ampaire
Both Ampaire and ZeroAvia are already in talks with airlines, according to their respective CEOs. In fact, Ampaire recently announced a partnership with Mokulele Airlines on Maui to start understanding and optimizing the commerical operation of electric aircraft. The zero-emission technologies could also see early adoption in places like Norway, where the government plans to move to 100% zero-emissions flights by 2040. Even the entire aviation industry is moving toward solutions to reduce emissions, and aims to cut emissions in half by 2050 compared to 2005.
Why it’s important: Similar to Ampaire, ZeroAvia is currently focusing on powertrain development for short to mid-range commercial flights (up to 500 nm) – a market making up nearly half of commercial flights worldwide. It remains to be seen whether Ampaire’s electric-powered aircraft or ZeroAvia’s hydrogen-powered powerplant will see more success in the future, and while electric cars have mostly won out in the automotive industry, the potential for weight savings in hydrogen fuel cells poses a strong alternative in aviation applications.
Sources // ZeroAvia; Ampaire; Flight Global
Subscribe to TUP
Listen to the TUP Podcast
Revisiting Kitty Hawk’s Flyer: The Aircraft Now With Over 25,000 Flights
17 August 2019 ||
4
min read
The Kitty Hawk Flyer, a one-man, manually piloted eVTOL designed for recreational use, has recorded over 25,000 flights with no issues. Including both the Flyer’s prototype stage as well as its more finalized design, Kitty Hawk recently announced that their aircraft had successfully been flown with reliability over 25,000 times, indicating that the company believes that their eVTOL is ready...
Read More
Revisiting Kitty Hawk’s Flyer: The Aircraft Now With Over 25,000 Flights
17 August 2019 ||
4
min read
The Kitty Hawk Flyer, a one-man, manually piloted eVTOL designed for recreational use, has recorded over 25,000 flights with no issues.
From prototype, to vehicle that has traveled more than 25,000+ times, Flyer is working on making the dream a reality. pic.twitter.com/sBb2kZ7vNw
— Kitty Hawk (@kittyhawkcorp) August 14, 2019
Including both the Flyer’s prototype stage as well as its more finalized design, Kitty Hawk recently announced that their aircraft had successfully been flown with reliability over 25,000 times, indicating that the company believes that their eVTOL is ready to spread through the open market. Currently, the company, based in Mountain View, California, is searching for applications from potential partners who would deploy it in their own communities, such as a travel destination or resort.
Both the Flyer and the Cora, a two-seater autonomous air taxi developed in collaboration with Boeing, could soon be brought to market. For the Flyer, Kitty Hawk has refined the eVTOL to the point where anyone, with or without flight experience, could learn to fly the aircraft within 15 minutes. Public information on the Flyer’s pricing or availability has not been released yet, and will most likely be released after Kitty Hawk has secured a deal with larger partners first.
The Cora, in development by Kitty Hawk and Boeing
The Flyer itself is an all-electric personal hoverbike/eVTOL, with a flight time of 12-20 minutes (at 20 mph), although the actual battery life will depend on outside environmental factors and load. It is powered by 10 independant fans, and can operate at an altitude of about 3-10 feet above the water. The vehicle without load weighs 250 lb, and can fly at a maximum speed of about 20 mph (limited by flight control system).
To learn more about the Flyer, visit our aircraft page here.
Why it’s important: The Flyer is a unique eVTOL in that the aim is to only provide short distance transportation, more for leisure or recreation rather than commute or long-distance travel. While the Flyer cannot meet the expectations of an eVTOL for use in the air taxi industry, the reliability and ease of use of the Flyer could do much to improve public perception on the safety and local impact of UAM in urban areas.
Sources // Forecast Wire
Subscribe to TUP
Listen to the TUP Podcast
FAA Grants Approval for Drone Food Delivery Service in North Carolina
17 August 2019 ||
4
min read
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has granted approval for Israeli drone manufacturer Flytrex and drone services firm Causey Aviation Unmanned to provide a drone-based food delivery service. A Flytrex drone makes a delivery overhead. As part of the FAA’s UAS Integration Pilot Program, Flytrex and Causey will implement their food delivery service in Holly Springs, North Carolina. The program was...
Read More
FAA Grants Approval for Drone Food Delivery Service in North Carolina
17 August 2019 ||
4
min read
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has granted approval for Israeli drone manufacturer Flytrex and drone services firm Causey Aviation Unmanned to provide a drone-based food delivery service.
A Flytrex drone makes a delivery overhead.As part of the FAA’s UAS Integration Pilot Program, Flytrex and Causey will implement their food delivery service in Holly Springs, North Carolina. The program was implemented in Holly Springs with the additional partnership with the N.C. Department of Transportation and the Town of Holly Springs. For now, the drone food delivery service will be limited to Holly Springs, but there could be potential for Flytrex and Causey Aviation to expand throughout North Carolina.
The service itself will consist of the drones, piloted by Causey Aviation pilots, following a single, fixed route from Kite Realty Group-owned Holly Springs Towne Center to Ting Park, the sports and recreation stadium in Holly Springs. The FAA-approved route was designed with consideration for residents of Holly Springs, mostly taking place over unpopulated areas, and purposefully avoiding adjacent neighborhoods, although it will cross one highway, Route 55.
Flight path for drone deliveries in Holly Springs. Photo provided by Flytrex and Causey Aviation.“Regulation is crucial to the future of widespread drone delivery, both for safe operations and public acceptance, which is why we have been working diligently with the FAA to adhere to the highest standards of safety,” said Yariv Bash, CEO and Co-Founder of Flytrex, “We continually strive to reach new heights when it comes to advancing commercial drone use around the world. That is why we are thrilled to have been chosen to work so closely with the FAA to help this pilot take off. This is just the beginning as we expand the possibilities of sky-bound delivery.”
Why it’s important: Drone delivery expansion will be a service tied closely with urban air mobility, as the expansion will most likely involve the development of an Unmanned Aircraft System Traffic Management system. UAS Traffic Management Systems will be required for both drone delivery and UAM to expand into a large-scale service, making it mutually advantageous for both markets to take off. Flytrex makes for just one of the multiple third party companies competing to enter the US drone food delivery market, but with FAA approval to operate within Holly Springs, could see major success throughout North Carolina and the country if the service takes off.
Sources // Fox 8
Subscribe to TUP
Listen to the TUP Podcast
NEC Unveils Flying Car Demo at Abiko, Japan
16 August 2019 ||
3
min read
Japan’s plans for flying cars by 2030 continues at Abiko, Japan, where the electronics firm NEC conducted two brief demonstrations for their developmental flying car. The demonstrations featured the flying car, unnamed as of now, steadily hovering over the ground for about a minute using its four propellers. Conducted inside of a giant cage, the flying car did not seem...
Read More
NEC Unveils Flying Car Demo at Abiko, Japan
16 August 2019 ||
3
min read
Japan’s plans for flying cars by 2030 continues at Abiko, Japan, where the electronics firm NEC conducted two brief demonstrations for their developmental flying car.
The demonstrations featured the flying car, unnamed as of now, steadily hovering over the ground for about a minute using its four propellers. Conducted inside of a giant cage, the flying car did not seem to run into any issues in its brief flight. NEC has not released any of their flying car’s detailed technical specifications as of today.
“Japan is a densely populated country and that means flying cars could greatly alleviate the burden on road traffic,” Kouji Okada, one of the project leads at NEC, “We are positioning ourselves as an enabler for air mobility, providing location data and building communications infrastructure for flying cars.”
NEC is also one of the 80 companies sponsoring Cartivator’s own flying car, the SkyDrive. Read more about Cartivator’s SkyDrive on their own website here.
Japan plans to feature flying cars heavily in their infrastructure within the next two decades, with plans to not only incorporate eVTOLs in their daily transportation, but inter-island transportation, emergency relief, and deliveries all as potential industries for eVTOLs to be involved in. However, Japan will need to resolve the issues that many other companies industry-wide are facing, such as battery life issues, and regulation compliance.
Why it’s important: Japan has heavily endorsed the idea of incorporating flying cars in daily life, going as far as to fund the construction of a huge test course in an area devastated by the 2011 tsunami and nuclear disasters in Fukushima. With such backing, Japan could possibly shoot to the forefront of the UAM industry moving past the developmental/test stage.
Sources // New Atlas
Subscribe to TUP
Listen to the TUP Podcast
Uber’s Potential Expansion to Dallas Receives Tax Break
15 August 2019 ||
4
min read
This week, new details emerged about Uber’s plan to potentially bring 3,000 jobs to the Dallas area by 2025 (2,500 by 2023). Dallas city council members approved an economic incentive package which includes $746,000 from a tax abatement over a five year period and up to $8.6M in economic grants. Uber’s $110M investment would make Dallas the company’s largest employment...
Read More
Uber’s Potential Expansion to Dallas Receives Tax Break
15 August 2019 ||
4
min read
This week, new details emerged about Uber’s plan to potentially bring 3,000 jobs to the Dallas area by 2025 (2,500 by 2023). Dallas city council members approved an economic incentive package which includes $746,000 from a tax abatement over a five year period and up to $8.6M in economic grants. Uber’s $110M investment would make Dallas the company’s largest employment center outside of its headquarters in San Francisco and could signal a firm commitment to bringing urban air mobility to the city.
Potential office location for Uber at The Epic in Dallas’ Deep Ellum neighborhood. Source: Dallas Business Journal
“Uber is evaluating adding a significant number of jobs in Dallas and investing directly in the community,” said company spokesman Travis Considine. “Our team is currently discussing the opportunity with state and local leaders, and we hope to make a decision by the fall.” Mayor Eric Johnson says the company’s move to Dallas would create several high paying jobs for the local economy.
The Dallas City Council just approved a competitive economic incentive package and @CityofDallas will hopefully soon be welcoming @Uber to our city. Uber's expansion in Dallas will bring thousands of high-paying jobs & a $110 million investment to our city. Excited for Dallas!
— Mayor Eric Johnson (@DallasMayor) August 14, 2019
Uber’s relationship with the city has been public knowledge for some time. It became a focus market for Uber at its 2017 Elevate conference with the goal of beginning demonstrator flights in 2020 and commercial operations in 2023. It has developed partnerships with Hillwood Properties to build vertiports around the city and with Bell Helicopter’s Nexus hybrid-electric air taxi, among others. More recently, the company has received multiple concept designs from architectural firms like Gensler’s CitySpace below. These flexible spaces provide cities with the infrastructure needed to support air taxi services while still offering modern retail/commercial space.
Render of Gensler’s CitySpace, Credit: Gensler
While Uber has not formally announced its plan to accept the package, Dallas’ low cost of real estate and living make the city an attractive option. Uber plans to make a decision by this fall.
Why it matters: All eyes will be on Dallas for the roll-out of large scale urban air mobility (UAM) markets in the United States. The sprawling metropolis is ripe for taking advantage of the value proposition UAM offers. Between its low cost of land, local investment in infrastructure, and local governments willingness to work with Uber, the city seems to be ripe for building out America’s first UAM city.
Subscribe to TUP
Listen to the TUP Podcast
Turkish Company Unveils Country’s First Flying Car
13 August 2019 ||
4
min read
Selçuk Bayraktar, the technical director of Baykar Makina and son-in-law of Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, just announced the development of Turkey’s first flying car. Baykar Makina is renowned in Turkey as a leading defense and technology company with expertise developing and manufacturing various unmanned aerial vehicles. Bayraktar posted a series of photos on Twitter showing the early stages of a research...
Read More
Turkish Company Unveils Country’s First Flying Car
13 August 2019 ||
4
min read
Selçuk Bayraktar, the technical director of Baykar Makina and son-in-law of Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, just announced the development of Turkey’s first flying car.
3D renderings of the CEZERI prototype, a large-scale quadcopter.
Baykar Makina is renowned in Turkey as a leading defense and technology company with expertise developing and manufacturing various unmanned aerial vehicles. Bayraktar posted a series of photos on Twitter showing the early stages of a research and development process that would take years to develop the flying car, named CEZERİ.
The vehicle generates lift from four rotors, and resembles a large quadcopter fit to transport a human. Below the rotors is the passenger compartment with a single seat and a glass “cockpit”. Though, there are no signs of any controls which leads us to believe that the occupant of the CEZERİ vehicle will rely solely on autonomous flight. If sold to private customers, the occupant would likely enter a destination using an interface in the flight deck, and the vehicle would do the rest. More likely, Baykar Makina will develop a fleet of vehicles that could be operated for ride-hailing endeavors similar to Uber or Lyft.
Employee tests joystick for what is assumed to be the vehicle’s flight control system // Selçuk Bayraktar
Bayraktar is simultaneously crowdsourcing opinions on the livery of the CEZERİ by asking Twitter users to vote by liking the photo of their favorite paint scheme rendering. At first glance, this is a creative way to increase awareness of the development of the vehicle while creating a buzz for future announcements and updates on the prototype.
According to the Daily Sabah based in Istanbul, “the design team aims to complete the prototype in time for a debut at Turkey’s biggest aerospace and technology festival Teknofest, which begins on Sept. 17 at Istanbul Airport.” Look forward to updates on an assembled prototype next month, after which we hope to know more about the specifications and applications of the vehicle.
Why it’s important: Similar to the infancy of the automotive industry, there are beginning to be hundreds of manufacturers trying their hand in producing an operational flying car. It will be years, or even decades, before the industry narrows to a few large-scale companies mass-producing these vehicles; in the meantime, the quantity of innovators creating different solutions to the same problem will likely lead to a more optimized design for the future production of eVTOLs.
Sources // Daily Sabah; Twitter
Subscribe to TUP
Listen to the TUP Podcast
Sneak Peak of Gravity Industries’ Feature in new BBC TV Show: Inside Out
12 August 2019 ||
3
min read
Richard Browning and Gravity Industries’ Jet Suit just got a big upgrade. In a sneak peek promotional video posted to Instagram on August 10th, Richard is seen flying his newest jet pack, complete with a wing suit and airfoil attachment to augment the already impressive setup. The post was a teaser for his segment in a BBC TV Show Inside...
Read More
Sneak Peak of Gravity Industries’ Feature in new BBC TV Show: Inside Out
12 August 2019 ||
3
min read
Richard Browning and Gravity Industries’ Jet Suit just got a big upgrade. In a sneak peek promotional video posted to Instagram on August 10th, Richard is seen flying his newest jet pack, complete with a wing suit and airfoil attachment to augment the already impressive setup. The post was a teaser for his segment in a BBC TV Show Inside Out, airing September 2nd in partnership with X Blade Drone Racing Group. The flight took place in the Isle of White, near Southampton.
The man behind the jet pack, Richard Browning, has been an engineer and inventor for his entire life, and is the founder of Gravity Industries. Gravity builds “1000 horsepower jet suits” and is arguably one of the world’s most popular jet pack manufacturers. Gravity Industries was founded in March of 2017, and has grown in popularity tremendously in the last two years. Gravity Industries was not able to comment on further details of the reveal but stated that “we were testing the capabilities of the Jet Suit and trying something that has never been attempted before” for the show.
While not readily apparent, many of the technological advances baked into Gravity’s jet suit may also apply to the UAM industry – namely the propulsion system. While battery technology is not mature enough to be the sole provider of propulsion for many urban aircraft, smaller gas turbines, or normally aspirated piston engines – combined with battery packs – may be the hybridized propulsion system that bridges the gap between the energy storing technology of today and that of the next 20 years, when batteries are advanced enough to be the sole propulsor for many air taxis and small commercial transport aircraft.
Why it’s important: Gravity Industries is pushing the boundaries of human jet pack flight. Less than a month after Franky Zapata flew across the English Channel on his jetpack, Gravity is showcasing the upgraded capabilities of the gas turbine powered jetpack that Richard Browning has been refining over the past years. Advances in controlled and accelerated forward flight for jetpacks aren’t directly applicable to UAM, but the novel propulsion configurations and control laws that will aid in safe flight from one location to the next could likely be applied to UAM technologies that involved novel power plant configuration aircraft for which conventional stability and control principles won’t suffice.
Matt Bohlsen’s Look at the Emerging Electric Aircraft Sector
12 August 2019 ||
17
min read
Summary The reasons electric aircraft make a lot of sense. The electric aircraft sector – the number of electric aircraft in development increased by roughly 50% over the past year to 170. Roland Berger: “All indications suggest that we may be on the cusp of a revolution in the aerospace and aviation industries.” Companies that are leading the electric plane...
Read More
Matt Bohlsen’s Look at the Emerging Electric Aircraft Sector
12 August 2019 ||
17
min read
Summary
- The reasons electric aircraft make a lot of sense.
- The electric aircraft sector – the number of electric aircraft in development increased by roughly 50% over the past year to 170.
- Roland Berger: “All indications suggest that we may be on the cusp of a revolution in the aerospace and aviation industries.”
- Companies that are leading the electric plane race.
This article used with permission and written by Matt Bohlsen
The era of electric aircraft is just starting now. Initially, we can expect to see very small electric aircraft flying short range trips. Next, we can expect the larger aircraft manufacturers such as Boeing (BA), Airbus (OTCPK:EADSF) (OTCPK:EADSY), and others to use hybrid aircraft. Beyond that, anything is possible, especially if technology continues to advance.
Two main types of electric aircraft being developed nowadays:
- Electric planes (smaller conventional style).
- Electric vertical take-off & landing (eVTOL) vehicles.
Note: Most are pure electric; however, larger planes (>10-20 seats) usually need to be hybrid, as electric is not yet powerful enough.
An electric vertical take-off & landing (eVTOL) vehicle
The reasons electric aircraft make a lot of sense
- Massive fuel savings. Given airlines typically spend 25-50% of their costs on fuel, switching to electric aircraft (where possible) is a no-brainer.
- Cheaper maintenance costs.
- Better for the environment as no carbon dioxide emissions.
- Governments may support – e.g.: Norway said it is committing to all-electric domestic flights by 2040.
Back in March 2015, I correctly picked the start of the Chinese electric car boom, as you can see in my article “Chinese Electric Vehicle Companies About To Boom.” My reasons were based on China’s 3 key needs – to reduce pollution, to reduce oil, and to build a globally competitive car manufacturing industry in China.
Fast forward to now (2019) and we are approaching a similar time for electric aircraft. My view is that, in the 2020s, we will start to see commercial electric vehicles for short-range provincial trips (passenger loads ~10). The reasons are mostly economical, as 25-50% cost reductions (minimal fuel bill) will mean small provincial flights will start to go electric. Assuming battery technology and aircraft design continue to improve, we should see this gradually improve in the 2020s to a point where hybrid planes and just maybe long-range electric planes become more common.
For shorter helicopter-style trips or where there is no airport for landing (helipads will do), the electric vertical take-off & landing (eVTOL) vehicle will also begin to take market share from competitors.
The benefits of electric aircraft
Limitations
Due to technical limitations for now, there are still limitations on electric planes. For example, they are yet not able to carry huge passenger fleets due to lower power to weight ratios than conventional planes.
Technological breakthroughs will be needed for electric aircraft to completely replace conventional jet-fueled internal combustion engine [ICE] aircraft. This will mean higher battery energy density and lighter or better-designed planes. In the meantime, we will see small short-range all-electric aircraft and hybrid aircraft (electric and ICE).
A Look At The Electric Aircraft Sector
As reported by Statista:
According to German consulting firm Roland Berger: “All indications suggest that we may be on the cusp of a revolution in the aerospace and aviation industries.
As reported by CNN:
According to the consultancy Roland Berger, the number of electric aircraft in development increased by roughly 50% over the past year to 170. The number could swell to 200 by the end of 2019. There are two big factors driving increased investment: The global aviation industry produces up to 3% of all carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, a share that’s projected to increase sharply in coming years; and it spends roughly $180 billion a year on jet fuel. “Increased efficiency has been the name of the game when selling aircraft for decades,” said Nikhil Sachdeva, a senior consultant at Roland Berger. “Electric is the next phase.”
Companies That Are Leading The Electric Plane Race
Airbus [FR:AIR]
Airbus E-Fan X is being developed with Rolls-Royce (OTCPK:RYCEF) and Siemens (OTCPK:SIEGY) as a hybrid-electric airline demonstrator. The E-Fan is a prototype two-seater electric aircraft. It has two electric motors and has a flight duration of 60 minutes.
Airbus state:
The E-Fan X hybrid-electric technology demonstrator is anticipated to fly in 2020 following a comprehensive ground test campaign, provisionally on a BAe 146 flying testbed, with one of the aircraft’s four gas turbine engines replaced by a two-megawatt electric motor. Provisions will be made to replace a second gas turbine with an electric motor once system maturity has been proven.
Airbus E-Fan hybrid-electric plane
Airbus also has an advanced prototype electric vertical take-off & landing (eVTOL) vehicle. It has 8 electric motors, can carry up to 4 passengers, and is currently in the testing stage.
Airbus states:
Self piloted flying vehicle can operate at three times the speed of the average road vehicle and extend commuters geographical reach by tenfold.”
An airbus electric vertical take-off & landing (eVTOL) – 440kWh Li-ion battery
Ampaire (private)
Ampaire is currently developing a retrofitted electric aircraft with the aim to be FAA certified by the end of 2021.
Ampaire states:
Ampaire has LOI’s from regional airlines around the globe. And we’ve partnered with Mokulele Airlines in Hawaii to fly our retrofitted planes on their routes – the world’s first operational demonstration of electrified aircraft by a commercial operator.
On June 18, 2019, Aviation Pros reported:
Personal Airline Exchange [PAX] orders 50 Ampaire Electric Aircraft for on-demand…..with options for 50 additional electrified planes. PAX also intends to immediately acquire two upgraded aircraft from Ampaire to kickstart initial operations prior to hybrid conversion. For its commercial customers, Ampaire is targeting certifying its Electric EEL product in 2021. Ampaire’s hybrid aircraft will help PAX service thousands of airports of all sizes with industry-leading operating costs.
An Ampaire hybrid electric passenger plane
Boeing
Boeing’s NeXt program focuses on urban mobility. Boeing has teamed up with Uber Air’s flying taxi service to develop a VTOL vehicle to begin ferrying passengers planned for 2023. You can view a video of their Passenger Air Vehicle [PAV] vehicle here.
Boeing, via its HorizonX subsidiary, has invested in several promising electric aircraft companies including Zunum Aero and Kitty Hawk.
Boeing’s Passenger Air Vehicle [PAV] – VTOL
Dufour Aerospace (private)
Dufour Aerospace is a Swiss company developing the aEro 2, an advanced electric VTOL aircraft that brings you from your doorstep to nearly anywhere you want over 5 times faster than a car but at the same cost per kilometer.
The company plans to be in the testing phase in 2020 for their aEro 2 electric VTOL.
aEro2 – All electric VTOL vehicle
Embraer [BR: EMBR3 ] (ERJ)
Embraer’s Embraer X unit is focused on disruptive technology such as VTOLs. Embraer recently unveiled their eVTOL aircraft concept. You can view a video here.
Embraer’s concept eVTOL
Eviation Aircraft (OTCPK:EVTNF)
The Israeli startup Eviation Aircraft took the aviation world by storm recently at the Paris Air Show. Eviation received a “double-digit” number of orders for their $4 million electric plane called Alice. CNBC reported US regional airline Cape Air as their first customer forecasting first delivery in 2022.
The aircraft can fly 650 miles (1,046 km) at around 500 miles per hour (805 km/h) with three electric motors on the tail and one on each wingtip. The prototype carries a 900 kWh lithium-ion battery. The plane carries nine passengers.
Alice: A fully electric 9 seater plane, 900kWh battery, 650-mile range
Harbour Air/MagniX (private)
Harbour Air recently announced they will run an all-electric aircraft fleet. MagniX is focused on providing advanced all-electric propulsion system for commercial aviation & defense.
Cleantechnica reported:
Harbour Air will be the first seafaring airline to convert its complete fleet of de Havilland Beaver, Otter, Twin Otter aircraft and lone Cessna Caravan to electricity. These 41 vintage aircraft will be converted to reach a longer lifecycle with highly improved efficiency and lowered maintenance costs, a win-win for all…..Harbour Air will have to work closely with MagniX, the company that developed the 750 hp electric motor and battery pack that will give the aircraft enough electricity and power for about an hour of flight.
Source: Cleantechnica
Joby Aviation (private)
Joby Aviation is a California-based start up focusing on developing a flying electric taxi vehicle. The Company has spent the last decade developing its own electric motors and their eVTOL vehicle. Then, in February 2018, the Company announced a $100 million in venture funding from investors including Intel Capital, Toyota AI Ventures, JetBlue Technology Ventures, and Capricorn Investment Group (who also backed Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA)). Their latest VTOL vehicle is being developed to fly as many as five people as far as 150 miles on a single electric charge.
Joby is also working on a conventional style electric plane project, “the Sceptor” with NASA.
The X-57 Maxwell electric plane (The Sceptor project)
Kitty Hawk (private)
Kitty Hawk was established by Google’s co-founder Larry Page. They have two key electric aircraft under development and testing – The Cora (2 passengers) and the Flyer (single pilot).
Kitty Hawk’s Cora is designed as an all-eVTOL taxi with about 100 kilometers of range.
On June 25, 2019, Kitty Hawk announced:
Boeing and Kitty Hawk form strategic partnership. The strategic partnership will bring together the innovation of Kitty Hawk’s Cora division with Boeing’s scale and aerospace expertise.
Cora electric ETOL – 2 passengers, 100 km range
Lilium (private)
Germany’s Lilium aviation’s jet vertical take-off and landing (VTOL), zero-emission electric aircraft has completed its first flight in Germany. With remote controls from the ground, the unmanned two-seater faced a series of tests, including a mid-air transition from hovering to horizontal flight. The Company aims for its first manned flight in 2019 and a five-seater air taxi service planned by 2025.
Tencent (CEHY) was an early investor into Lilium. You can view a video of their latest plane here.
Lilium’s five-seater all-electric plane
Pipistrel (private)
Pipistrel is an established light aircraft manufacturer with over 1300 Pipistrel aircraft flying in 90 countries. Pipistrel already makes two small electric planes – The Alpha Electro and the Taurus Electro.
Pipistrel state:
Pioneer of high technology in light aviation, unveiling revolutionary concepts such as electric flight and pursuing extreme aeroefficiency.
Alpha Electro
Tesla
Tesla has no current plans for an electric plane; however, Elon Musk has been looking at the idea for some years and, of course, also founded the Space X rocket company.
Electrek reported in July 2019:
Tesla Electric Airplane? Elon Musk sees electric aircraft in 5 years. Quoting a Musk tweet when asked about electric planes: “Yes, but still a bit too limited on range. That will change in coming years as battery energy density improves.” When he revealed that he had a design for an electric VTOL aircraft, Musk estimated that Li-Ion batteries would need to achieve a 400 Wh/kg energy density in order for batteries to beat kerosene and his electric aircraft to be viable. Today, battery cells with high cycles are achieving about 300 Wh/kg of energy density.
Wright Electric (private)
Wright Electric is a startup aiming to create a commercial airliner that runs on batteries and for distances of less than 300 miles. easyJet (OTCPK:EJTTF) announced it was developing with Wright Electric an electric 180-seater aircraft by 2027. To date, the Company has built a two-seat proof of concept electric plane. They also advocate using swappable battery packs with advanced cell chemistry.
Wright Electric is also making preparations to perform a first flight of a nine-seat electric aircraft in 2019.
The Company states:
Wright Electric’s goal is for every short flight to be zero-emissions within 20 years. Our first plane is an airliner designed for flights like New York-Boston, London-Paris, and Seoul-Jeju.
Zunum Aero (private)
Zunum Aero is an aircraft manufacturer startup based in Kirkland, Washington that is backed by Boeing HorizonX and JetBlue Technology. The company’s concept is to make short haul flights affordable, easy and simple.
Zunum Aero states:
Imagine leaving your doorstep in San Jose at 7 AM and making it to a 9:30 AM meeting in Pasadena. With Zunum Aero, simply drive to a nearby airfield and walk to your aircraft with bags in tow, for a trip that will take half the time and at a much lower fare. Or skip the meeting altogether, and be on the slopes in Tahoe by 8:40 AM for $100 round-trip, and back home the same evening.
Zunum has reportedly struggled with funding recently, despite previously being supported by Boeing and JetBlue (NASDAQ:JBLU).
Zunum’s hybrid electric plane
Others
Other names in the electric aircraft space include: Bye Aerospace (US), DeLorean Aerospace (US), Electric Aircraft Corporation (US), Evektor (Czech Republic), PC Aero (Germany), Schempp-Hirth (Germany), Siemens (Germany), Volta-Volaré (US), and Yuneec International (China).
Risks
- Electric aviation is a new industry requiring large start-up costs.
- The usual start-up risks – funding, technology change, cash burn.
- Many companies are private and not accessible to investors.
- Management risk.
- The usual stock market risks – dilution, sentiment, volatility.
Conclusion
Investors should remain mindful that electric plane development is expensive and challenges remain, particularly for longer flights and larger planes. The sector is largely made up of a mix of private startups and the established manufacturing giants (Boeing, Airbus, Embraer). Clearly, only the best and well-funded startups will survive.
On the other side, any manufacturer that can make a compelling electric plane with good range at a reasonable cost stands to do very well. Many promising private companies are making good progress towards commercialization of their aircraft. The very recent news of Eviation receiving commercial double-digit orders for a 2022 delivery just highlights how fast the electric aviation sector is now moving.
Share this: