Traffic congestion is getting worse and worse in world's major cities. The streets are simply overcrowded, and during rush hours it's often almost inevitable to get stuck in traffic jam.
So what would be the best solution?
To avoid the streets completely and get to your destination by air!
This is why the German startup "Lilium" aims to create world's first on-demand flying taxi services - the "Uber" of air travel.
Lilium enables you to travel 5 times faster than a car by introducing the world’s first all-electric vertical take-off and landing jet: an air taxi for up to 5 people. You won’t have to own one, you will simply pay per ride and call it with a push of a button. It’s our mission to make air taxis available to everyone and as affordable as riding a car.
In 1894, Otto Lilienthal began experimenting with the first gliders and imagined a future in which we could all fly wherever we want, whenever we want. Lilium is turning that dream into reality. We are bringing personalized, clean and affordable air travel to everyone.
About the Jets
Some may call these means of transport flying cars or -taxis, but the company itself calls them Jets.
Right now, they are still controlled remotely, but the Jets will eventually be piloted.
Lilium's jets are 100% electric, vertical take-off and landing (VTOL), and are equipped with two seats (5-seater versions will be developed in the future).
The vertical take-off is actually a key part of the concept, because it enables the flying taxes to land and take-off in relatively small spaces without the need for a long airstrip.
There are 36 separate engines which are mounted on the jets 10-meter long wings with flaps.
Once it takes off, the flaps are being pointed downwards to enable a vertical lift, and once the jet is in the air, the flaps slowly turn back to a horizontal position to provide a forward thrust.
The jets have a range of 300km - Lilium states that it "consumes around 90 percent less energy than drone-style aircraft", which enables this wide range on a single charge.
They have a maximum speed of 300km/h, which means they could take users from London to Paris in one hour only.
Since the aircraft is completely electric, it also emits very low noise levels that are supposed to be comparable to the sound level of a motorbike.
“It’s the same battery that you can find in any Tesla. The concept is that we are lifting with our wings as soon as we progress into the air with velocity, which makes our airplane very efficient. Compared to other flights, we have extremely low power consumption.”-Patrick Nathen, Lilium co-founder & head of calculation and design
Maiden Flight
Earlier this year, the first life-size prototype of a Lilium Jet went on its maiden flight in Munich.
Although the aircraft was still remote-controlled, this test still showed that the strange design and the technology itself work perfectly.
Ordering a flying taxi like an Uber
The Lilium jets will come with their own mobile apps, where users can order taxis on-demand.
Of course the jets can't just land anywhere, but there will be designated landing pads around the cities where Lilium operates.
Just like on Uber, users will use the app to check who their pilot is, when the jet arrives, how long the journey to their destination will take and more.
Pricing
Hiring a flying taxi sounds exclusive and very expensive - but Lilium has actually guaranteed that it's an important goal for them to keep the prices affordable for everyone and similar to regular taxi prices.
A ride from Manhattan to JFK airport for example takes almost an hour by car and costs between $55 and $75 with a regular cab.
With a Lilium jet on the other hand, the journey would only take 5 minutes, and would cost around $36 initially, but the aim is to drop the price to as low as $6 long-term.
Future Outlook
Of course, the technology is not quite ready yet. The team has just successfully performed their maiden flight this year, but still need to undergo testing with actual piloted flights.
As you can see from the image below, they aim to achieve the first manned flight in 2 years, and have the whole platform and system ready by 2025.
© Sirwinchester
As we are travelling a lot as you know 😉 flying taxis would be a great idea 👏🏻! Thanks for sharing
We made it to steemit, thanks for informing us! Are you still enjoying Thailand? Greetings from Cambodia. Maybe we can stay in touch @travellove
Imagine the fee they're gonna charge you if you puke in the jet!!!
waiting for the sky route.
as you can see here, the sky routes (blue) are much quicker than driving along the streets by car (red)
wow, the jet age, finally.....meet the Jetsons!
Wow ... flying rides lower than ground taxi. That would be amazing. The only thing stopping it would be either local city governments or the local union taxi drivers who may feel threatened by this better service.
That is absolutely INSANE. Ok, I mean everyone knows flying cars are coming, but SHIT....This is probably gonna be real in a decade or so! Wow. Cheers for sharing this @sirwinchester. I'm gonna be dreaming of owning a flying car (bought with Steem and Bitcoin of course!)
Thank you, glad you liked it! And yes I think the technology is super exciting as well, would love to try it out
Very good post...upvoted.
The world of the Jetsons is coming at us. In a decade, I predict a great deal of cargo along with people will be moved in the airspace from the ground up to about 400 feet. This is where the "airtaxis" will reside.
Yes I believe so too. the streets are getting too overcrowded! we need to switch to air travel
I agree this is an amazing idea. I would love to see it take off, but I wonder if bureaucratic red tape won't hang this up for some time.
Cities had a hard time with Uber initially and then air space.... seems trickier.
Great post thanks for the share sir.
It is amazing what modern technology can accomplish when paired with ingenutity.
Wow man this is proof that the future is today
At last the flying car!
Exactly, finally our dreams of flying cars will (kind of) come true!
It is a good idea but maybe will take more time to implement. I wonder when the autonomous cars will cross Europe every day, and that is just on the ground, with many regulations. interesting times for sure.
Excellent work dear friend @sirwinchester, this information is fabulous, will undoubtedly resolve the transit problem of the main cities in the world.
In my Argentine country the traffic is a chaos, I work more than 100 kilometers away, a trip maximum of one hour, due to traffic problems took more than three hours, crazy.
Thank you very much for sharing this information
Have a great day
I like where this is going wow.
Won ..great technology...
If the crypto is a future of financial institution. Electric jets is for the transportation. Are they selling some ICO for us to make an invesment and become part of the future.
There technically is already an "uber of flying." Don't remember their names, tbh. I know there is one that you can essentially get a private jet on demand, another one where a pilot may have empty seats on their private plane and will let you get on board, and Uber themselves are working on using flying cars. What i'm thinking is that this company is essentially going to be a Postmates to what Uber Eats is.
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I say i want uber ironman😎
nice post, @ahlawat
Lol
Simply amazing
This is incredible, never heard of Lilium before thx for the post! Now this looks like a nice investment opportunity.
I think this will definitely be the future, I am surprised they are still piloted I am sure going from landing pad to landing pad will soon be fully automated.
Will keep an eye on this one 👍
There are several companies with services like this in the works. Looks like something akin to flying cars is finally going to become a reality. It will be fantastic if the can deliver on the pricing projections. You'd see a huge growth in this industry. Imagine how this might change the layout of future city development.