I missed this story when it ran in September, but here it is now. It answered a few questions about how these things operate, which I liked.
Lilium, a German aerospace company, debuted its electric vertical takeoff and landing jet Thursday at Hobby Airport in the U.S. for the first time as it hopes the aircraft will be flying over Houston as soon as 2026.
The Lilium Jet is an electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft, or eVTOL, that can seat four to six people. Matt Broffman, Lilium’s commercial vice president in North America, said the range for the plane in 2026 will be 110 miles with the goal of expanding that range to connect the entire Texas Triangle by 2035.
“With ground-based EVs, we saw lower maintenance. The same is the case for aircraft electric vehicles. The maintenance costs being low and there being no fuel cost, which is one of the most expensive parts of any flight, means that this aircraft is incredibly efficient to operate, which means that price point for the end consumer can be way more affordable long term,” said Broffman, who called the aircraft the world’s first eVTOL jet.
Lilium Jets lift vertically like helicopters with their engines rotating down to push the aircraft up. Once in the air, the engines rotate back into a traditional position for the craft to head to its destination.
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Lilium will start crewed flight tests next year to get approval from the European Union Aviation Safety Agency and the Federal Aviation Administration.
The jet’s debut did not include a flight demonstration but invitees could climb inside and walk around the craft.
Thursday’s event, coordinated with the Greater Houston Partnership, came after Lilium announced an infrastructure partnership with Galaxy FBO. Galaxy FBO is a fixed-base operator with locations at Conroe North Houston Regional Airport, Addison Airport and The Woodlands Heliport in addition to Hobby.
Jimmy Spence, Houston Airports business development manager, said he and others are trying to figure out what locations at Bush Intercontinental Airport might be the best spot for a vertiport. He said their considerations include how the jets will approach the airport, and how will passengers be secured after landing and be able to enter and exit the airport.
“It’s a jigsaw puzzle,” Spence said. “It’s challenging, but it’s fun.”
The length of the Lilium Jet is about 50 feet, Broffman said, and a landing strip needs to be about two or 2.5 times that length.
That means landing in downtown areas could be possible for the jet. He said parking garages have the potential to be good landing locations for the jet.
“We’re seeing people who are building parking garages begin to think about how do I incorporate landing facilities?” Broffman said. “Again, that’s one of the good things about being here in Houston is that we’ve talked to a lot of developers who are planning future projects. We’re saying you might want to consider having a landing location.”
That story was from September 27, and I found it when I read the recent Wisk story. Linguists will note the earlier appearance of the word “vertiport”, which I appreciate. This sounds less like a flying taxi service and more like a regional airline, perhaps as a charter since the jets are so small. That at least makes their business model clearer to me. If they can offer rides from more places than just airports, so much the better for them. As with Wisk and its ilk, I am genuinely curious to see how these businesses fare. I could possibly imagine taking one of these things to Galveston for a day trip instead of driving. What do you think?