Tech Breakthrough: Electric Flying Car Completes Successful First Flight!

Air taxis you can summon with your smartphone have stepped closer to reality.

A radical zero-emission electric plane capable of vertical take-off and landing has successfully completed flight tests.

The two-seater Lilium Jet carried out a series of tests above Germany, including a mid-air maneuver in which it transitions from hover mode to forward flight, the firm has revealed.

And, Lilium also revealed that it is working on a larger, five-seater version that the firm says could soon be used for ride-sharing services. 

The pod-like plane can achieve both vertical take-off and landing (VTOL), like a helicopter, and jet-powered flight.

This allows it to fly for nearly 200 miles at a maximum cruising speed of over 180 miles per hour.

Lilium Jet’s 100 percent electric design means it is far more efficient than typical aircraft.

‘We have solved some of the toughest engineering challenges in aviation to get to this point,’ said Lilium co-founder and CEO Daniel Wiegand.

‘The successful test flight program shows that our ground-breaking technical dsign works exactly as we envisioned.

‘We can now turn our focus to designing the five-seater production aircraft.’

According to Lilium, this is the only electric aircraft capable of both VTOL and jet-powered flight.

It relies on 36 jet engines, which are mounted to the wings by 12 moveable flaps.

As it can take-off and land vertically, it needs just a small open space or landing pad on a building, as opposed to a lengthy runway.

Lilium has yet to reveal how much the craft will cost, but last spring, it was revealed it would be ready to purchase by 2018

According to Lilium, this is the only electric aircraft capable of both VTOL and jet-powered flight. It relies on 36 jet engines, which are mounted to the wings by 12 moveable flaps

Based on its efficiency and minimal infrastructure requirements, Lilium says this design could make for flights that are comparable in price to a typical car taxi.

A trip on such a plane would be five times faster than it would by car.

Going from Manhattan to JFK Airport, for example, would take just 5 minutes, while the same journey would be about 55 minutes by car.

As it can take-off and land vertically, it needs just a small open space or landing pad on a building, as opposed to a lengthy runway

Lilium Jet can take-off vertically, like a helicopter, and its 100 percent electric design means it is far more efficient than typical aircraft

And, Lilium has also revealed that it is working on a larger, five-seater version that the firm says could soon be used for ride-sharing services. Based on its efficiency and minimal infrastructure requirements, Lilium says this design could make for flights that are comparable in price to a typical car taxi

According to Lilium, this is the only electric aircraft capable of both VTOL and jet-powered flight. Lilium has yet to reveal how much the craft will cost, but last spring, it was revealed it would be ready to purchase by 2018

The designers say that going from Manhattan to JFK Airport would take just five minutes, while the same journey would be about 55 minutes by car

A pilot’s licence stipulating at least 20 hours of training is needing to guide the two-seater plane, that fits into the Light Sports Aircraft category.

The aircraft is designed for flying in daylight, where the weather conditions are ‘good.’

Lilium has yet to reveal how much the craft will cost, but last spring, it was revealed it would be ready to purchase by 2018.

At the time, the European Space Agency praised the energy-efficient design for its environmental and social benefits, stating that although the aircraft will primarily be using airfields for landing and take-off, ‘the goal is for it to take off vertically from almost anywhere – even from back gardens.’