Germany-based company Lilium has shared footage of its electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft, Lilium Jet, taking off vertically and transitioning into level flight.
The flight envelope, which the Jet shares with many other competing eVTOL designs, was performed on a technology demonstrator that first flew in 2019.
Since then, the aircraft has performed several partial transitions, with just some of its 30 engines unfolding to propel the aircraft forward.
The latest test, which was conducted at ATLAS Flight test center in Spain, marks the first-time that aircraft’s full capabilities have been tested.
Lilium’s first technology demonstrator, called Falcon, first flew in 2015. Four subsequent demonstrators have been built, with the company increasing the size and the complexity of the aircraft.
A mass-produced version of the Lilium Jet is expected to carry six passengers and have a range of 280 kilometers (150 nautical miles).
It is designed to take-off and land vertically on 36 thrust-vectoring engines, changing their pitch and relying on wings and canards in level flight.