https://www.irishtimes.com/business/innovation/inside-the-high-stakes-race-to-build-world-s-first-flying-taxi-1.4083075 Inside the high-stakes race to build world’s first flying taxi Nov 21, 2019
[image https://www.irishtimes.com/polopoly_fs/1.4083074.1573747107!/image/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/box_620_330/image.jpg The Lilium prototype flying taxi in a hangar in Wessling, Germany. Photograph: Felix Schmitt/The New York Times video https://youtu.be/XqWeafx9xm8 Lilium testflight ] ‘This is the perfect means of transportation, something that can take off and land everywhere’ Inside an aircraft hangar about 30km (20 miles) from central Munich, Daniel Wiegand lifted the door of a prototype that he said would become one of the world’s first flying taxis. He’s coy about how much it cost to build – “several million,” he says, but promises that within five years a fleet of them could provide a 10-minute trip from Manhattan to Kennedy International Airport for $70 (€63). A lot is riding on his aircraft. Wiegand (34) is the chief executive and a founder of Lilium, one of the most promising and secretive start-ups in the global race to build an all-electric aircraft that will – regulators and public opinion willing – move passengers above cities. “This is the perfect means of transportation, something that can take off and land everywhere,” says Wiegand (pronounced VEE-gand). “It’s very fast, very efficient and low noise.” Expectations that aerial taxis will be a reality in the coming years are quickly building. Companies like Lilium are testing their machines, laying the groundwork for wider production and starting discussions to gain support from government officials. At least 20 companies are in the market, which Morgan Stanley estimates will top €770 billion by 2040. Larry Page, the billionaire co-founder of Google, is financially backing Kitty Hawk, a company run by the first engineers on Google’s autonomous car. Boeing and Airbus have projects under way. Carmakers including Daimler, Toyota and Porsche are investing in the sector. Uber is developing an air taxi service, with plans to open by 2023 in Los Angeles, Dallas and Melbourne, Australia. Yet saying your aircraft could fly over Manhattan in five years doesn’t mean it will. Building durable jets at a reasonable cost still presents engineering and technical challenges. And a long process awaits with regulators, including the US Federal Aviation Administration, that will need to weigh safety concerns. “The question is can we build a platform that is broadly accessible to everybody and is not just a rich person’s toy, and can we build it so quiet that people on the ground aren’t annoyed by it?” says Kitty Hawk chief executive Sebastian Thrun. Lilium, which has raised more than €100 million from investors, illustrates the high-wire act of the companies trying to live up to the hype. The black-and-white aircraft shown by Wiegand is less “Jetsons”-like flying car than a glider, with a carbon fibre body and 11m wingspan. Like several other flying taxis in development, it is battery powered, providing a range of 300km and a top speed of nearly 305km/h. Inside the oval cabin will eventually be plush seats and other comforts for four passengers and a pilot. The engines are packed inside four wings with flaps that rotate so the aircraft can take off and land vertically like a helicopter. But it is quieter than a helicopter, so it could potentially land in some areas traditionally off limits to aircraft. [© irishtimes.com] ... http://electric-vehicle-discussion-list.413529.n4.nabble.com/template/NamlServlet.jtp?macro=search_page&node=413529&query=Lilium&sort=date search evdl on Lilium + https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/electric-engine-air-race-formula-one-villeneuve-silicon-valley-1.5365770 Edmonton pilot hopes to cross the finish line in international electric airplane race Nov 19, 2019 20-member team includes Silicon Valley engineers trying to develop electric airplane motor ... friends who've been working in the electric vehicle market in Silicon Valley. ... Sun Flyer 2, a two-seat electric-powered aircraft that is used for flight training ... https://i.cbc.ca/1.5365779.1574217286!/fileImage/httpImage/image.JPG_gen/derivatives/16x9_780/scott-holmes-pilot.JPG For EVLN EV-newswire posts use: http://www.evdl.org/archive/ {brucedp.neocities.org} -- Sent from: http://electric-vehicle-discussion-list.413529.n4.nabble.com/ _______________________________________________ UNSUBSCRIBE: http://www.evdl.org/help/index.html#usub ARCHIVE: http://www.evdl.org/archive/index.html INFO: http://lists.evdl.org/listinfo.cgi/ev-evdl.org Please discuss EV drag racing at NEDRA (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NEDRA)
