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posted by janrinok on Tuesday June 14 2022, @05:28PM   Printer-friendly

Lilium achieves main wing transition on its Phoenix 2 eVTOL aircraft:

German company Lilium, developer of the first electric vertical take-off and landing (eVOTL) aircraft, announced that it has successfully achieved the transition of the main wing of its Phoenix 2 model.

«This is a landmark moment for Lilium and for electric aviation as a whole», the company said. For the first time, it successfully completed a transition test of the aircraft's main wing from a stationary flight position to a configuration for horizontal flight.

A transition like this has never been completed in flight on a full-size demonstrator aircraft before. It is also one of the biggest hurdles in eVTOL operations.

From an aerodynamic point of view, completing the transition means that the aircraft is able to switch from generating lift solely from the engines (as occurs in the hover phase) to generating lift from the airflow above and below the wing (as occurs during horizontal flight).

[...] The Phoenix 2, unlike many of Lilium's competitors' models, uses a series of thirty fans located in the wings and powered by batteries.


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  • (Score: 2) by DannyB on Tuesday June 14 2022, @05:47PM

    by DannyB (5839) Subscriber Badge on Tuesday June 14 2022, @05:47PM (#1253249) Journal

    One step closer to flying cars we were promised!

    I sure hope the designers had the foresight to make it charge from usb-c.

    --
    People today are educated enough to repeat what they are taught but not to question what they are taught.
  • (Score: 2) by GreatOutdoors on Tuesday June 14 2022, @05:55PM (5 children)

    by GreatOutdoors (6408) on Tuesday June 14 2022, @05:55PM (#1253252)

    This isn't the first time an aircraft has been able to swap from vertical to horizontal flight... The Harrier jump jet did this starting in the late 60's.

    --
    Yes, I did make a logical argument there. You should post a logical response.
    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 14 2022, @06:12PM (2 children)

      by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 14 2022, @06:12PM (#1253254)

      This isn't the first time an aircraft has been able to swap from vertical to horizontal flight... The Harrier jump jet did this starting in the late 60's.

      TFA says: "For the first time, it successfully completed a transition test of the aircraft’s main wing from a stationary flight position to a configuration for horizontal flight. A transition like this has never been completed in flight on a full-size demonstrator aircraft before."

      Maybe the distinction is that the Harrier is a real aircraft with real operators capable of doing real missions, rather than a "demonstrator", whatever that means.

      Or maybe this is just talking about some technical distinction, such as using the wings themselves to redirect thrust as opposed to the rotating nozzles used on the Harrier?

      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 14 2022, @07:47PM (1 child)

        by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 14 2022, @07:47PM (#1253270)

        electric demonstrator, would you feel better if they put a little 'e' in front of every word?
        thirty electric fans is probably just as noisy and energy comsumptive as a jet engine tho.

        • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 14 2022, @07:59PM

          by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 14 2022, @07:59PM (#1253271)

          electric demonstrator, would you feel better if they put a little 'e' in front of every word?

          I don't think adding 'e' in front of every word would help since it would probably make the article quite difficult to read.

          However, I think I would feel a little bit better if the article did not make simple errors that turn what might otherwise be a true statement into a false one.

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 14 2022, @09:41PM (1 child)

      by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 14 2022, @09:41PM (#1253296)

      Woosh on tfa, the magazine completely missed this California company, they've been flying electric VTOL and transitioning for about 10 years now. Currently working on FAA certification (a very tough road):
          https://www.jobyaviation.com/ [jobyaviation.com]

      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 14 2022, @09:46PM

        by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 14 2022, @09:46PM (#1253300)

        Found a video of the Joby transitioning from hover to level flight, from about a year ago:
            https://www.youtube.com/c/JobyAviation [youtube.com]
        (same page also has a variety of animations)

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 14 2022, @06:09PM (2 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 14 2022, @06:09PM (#1253253)

    Considering the current climate both physically and economically, the transition from ground based transport to air based, couldn't come soon enough.

    • (Score: 2) by DannyB on Tuesday June 14 2022, @08:56PM (1 child)

      by DannyB (5839) Subscriber Badge on Tuesday June 14 2022, @08:56PM (#1253286) Journal

      We already have both road rage and air rage. The nature of air rage might change.

      Air based parking might have a real effect. Illegally parked cars will be toad.

      --
      People today are educated enough to repeat what they are taught but not to question what they are taught.
      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday June 15 2022, @03:27AM

        by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday June 15 2022, @03:27AM (#1253363)

        Illegally parked cars won't become frogs you fool.

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 14 2022, @08:30PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 14 2022, @08:30PM (#1253280)

    And really the biggest hurdle apparently is producing a video with real audio

  • (Score: 4, Informative) by MostCynical on Tuesday June 14 2022, @09:00PM (1 child)

    by MostCynical (2589) on Tuesday June 14 2022, @09:00PM (#1253287) Journal

    this video [youtube.com] doesn't have any music, and does allow you to hear the engines.

    --
    "I guess once you start doubting, there's no end to it." -Batou, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex
    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 14 2022, @09:48PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 14 2022, @09:48PM (#1253302)

      Thank you! Very disappointing that link wasn't in the summary

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 14 2022, @09:10PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 14 2022, @09:10PM (#1253291)

    > first electric vertical take-off and landing (eVOTL) aircraft

    Blimps

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