Electric aircraft developer Lilium has signed an agreement with multinational infrastructure operator Ferrovial to develop a network of at least ten “vertiports” for an all-electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL)-based air taxi service. According to Lilium, the network will cover “strategic locations in all major cities across Florida.” Exact locations for the vertiports planned in partnership with Ferrovial have not yet been announced.
“Our strategy to bring high-speed transportation networks to an entire region is being brought to life in Florida, and Ferrovial is the ideal partner with their unrivalled expertise in airport construction and operations around the globe,” said Lilium Chief Operating Officer Remo Gerber. “Nearly all 20 million Floridians will live within 30 minutes of our vertiports and the 140 million annual visitors to the Sunshine State will have a high-speed option available to travel to their destinations.”
As previously reported by AVweb, Lilium announced last November that it was partnering with Orlando-based Tavistock Development Company to build its first U.S. vertiport in Lake Nona, Orlando, Florida, with the goal of launching its air taxi service in 2025. The company is also developing the five-seat Lilium Jet eVTOL, which is expected to have a top speed of 300 km/h (162 knots) and a range of 300 km (162 NM). Lilium flew its full-scale five-seat demonstrator for the first time in May 2019.
This sounds more like the guy waking up and writing down what he dreamed the night before, and before he forgets all the details of it. So many details are left out, which could made it somewhat believable, it can only be a dream. And a nonsensical one at that.
There is no mention of the cost of this system. Acquiring land and building the terminals in or near major population centers in Florida will not be cheap. Add in the cost to develop and build the jet, and they will need a pretty well-heeled customer base to support the whole idea. At least it is not using a battery powered oversized drone that carries one or two people for a maximum distance of 20 miles.
I think they better worry about building the air taxi before they need to plan for a network of them. This sounds like marketing gibberish to dupe investors out of money…
I often wish AvWeb wouldn’t fall for these type of press releases. Next time Lilium sends you a press release, ask them to actually demonstrate a flying eVTOL, or take you to the construction site of one of these vertiports.
Come to think of it, with over 130 public airports in Florida, it’s 20 million residents are already within 30 minutes of an airport, so why bother building vertiports at all? Or, from another perspective, couldn’t eVTOLs land anywhere a helicopter can land? I suspect all the residents of Florida are within a 5 minute walk of a viable landing spot for a eVTOL.
And you thought multirotors were noisy!
Currently almost everyone in Florida is within 30 minutes of an existing airport. Maybe we should be using these for high speed air travel.
Lilium is back peddling now… This article shows Lilium got the wake-up call from EASA and FAA:
https://newatlas.com/aircraft/interview-lilium-chief-program-officer-yves-yemsi/