‘Lilium’, a Munich-based developer of electrically powered personal air vehicles is preparing for its first-ever actual “vertiport” in Orlando, Florida. The Germans had awed the world back in 2017 when their concept electrical aircraft named “Jet”, took-off vertically and landed with perfect control. This was just proof of concept, but the time to take things to the next level has come now.
The electric taxi hub will be taking people to various destinations across the Florida state, covering a range that goes all the way down to Miami. The Lilium Jet can take up to five passengers and uses 36 individual jet engines to fly. The power of the electric aircraft can go up to 1,491 kilowatts, but this is held for taking off and landing, as cruising only needs a tenth of that. According to Lilium’s engineers, the power packs in “Jet” have enough juice to let it fly for 60 minutes or 300 kilometers.
So, if you’re wondering when you will be able to take “Jet” and fly from Tampa to Orlando and from Jacksonville to Miami, the answer may disappoint you a tad bit. The facility in Lake Nona will be commissioned in 2025, as long as no delays for approvals by the Federal Aviation Administration are experienced.
Even then, there are more regulatory agencies involved, and considering that this will be the first vertiport of its kind, additional delays aren’t out of the question. Hopefully, the City of Orlando and the Tavistock Development Company that both have an active involvement in the project will help push things forward quicker.
Lilium is obviously excited to have something tangible to engage with right now, and its 600 engineers are already working feverishly. As the COO stated, they are thrilled to have been selected by Tavistock and the City of Orlando and are at the same time confident that Lake Nona will not be the only operational vertiport for their “Jets” in 2025.
Images by: Lilium
