Lilium announced that its eVTOL demonstrator, the Phoenix 2, reached a maximum speed of 250 km/h during a test flight. The fact is considered by the German company a milestone in the test program that aims to seek certification of the aircraft in Europe to start commercial operation in 2025.
The company has been carrying out flight tests from an airport in southern Spain with a remotely piloted eVTOL with no people on board. The Phoenix’s only payload is its own instruments, recording devices and radios for operation from the ground. The flight in question lasted just five and a half minutes.
The ability to gradually reach the maximum speed foreseen in the project is one of the requirements of the European Flight Safety Agency (EASA), which is the body responsible for certifying Lilium’s eVTOL, which will be the Lilium Jet and will have the capacity to five passengers.
Azul airline is one of Lilium’s partners. In 2021, the Brazilian company signed an agreement worth up to US$ 1 billion for the acquisition of 220 eVTOLs. The forecast for the start of operations is 2025, depending on certification in Europe and also on authorization by the Brazilian National Civil Aviation Agency (ANAC).