SkyDrive Press Release, April 4, 2020:
Skydrive Conducts Manned Flights, Moves Forward With Nobuo Kishi At The Helm
Munich-based Lilium GmbH announced on March 23, 2020 that is had completed an internal funding round worth more than $240M. The round was led by Tencent, with participation from other existing investors including Atomico, Freigeist and LGT.
The new funds bring the total sum raised to date to more than $340M. The company said the additional funds will be used to support further development of the Lilium Jet as well as underpinning preparations for serial production in Lilium's newly-completed manufacturing facilities.
We have restarted our regular series highlighting the activities of our 22 technical committees. Interested in joining or finding out more? Go to www.vtol.org/tech-committees.
The 2020 International Powered Lift Conference (IPLC) was held in January as part of the Transformative Vertical Flight 2020 Conference. This biennial conference rotates between the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA), the Royal Aeronautical Society, SAE International and VFS.
There were plenty of noteworthy announcements about electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft developments leading up to the 2020 Consumer Electronics Show (CES), the world’s largest consumer products trade show, held Jan. 7-10 in Las Vegas, Nevada (see for example, “The First Electric VTOL Unicorn: Joby Aviation,” Vertiflite Magazine, Mar/Apr 2020, pg. 48).
XTI Aircraft Company is playing the long game with the ongoing development of its TriFan 600 hybrid-electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft.
In the last year, the company — based at Centennial Airport near Denver, Colorado — refined the aircraft’s design, launched flight testing of its large-scale Proof of Concept (POC) vehicle, revitalized its funding program, partnered with a major engine maker, obtained two patents, strengthened upper management and now has a total of 81 orders for its unique aircraft.
Most stories of air taxis are all about the aircraft — with futuristic visions of multi-rotor, morphing electric vehicles presented by Uber, Boeing, Joby, Airbus, Lilium and many others. Los Angeles-based air taxi startup Skyryse (www.skyryse.com) looks downright dull in comparison, with photos of the humdrum Robinson R44 helicopter — which Skyryse calls the “Toyota Camry of the sky” for its ubiquity and utility.
The Transformative Vertical Flight 2020 event in San Jose, California, in mid-January, featured a wide range of sessions and panel discussions that covered the breadth and depth of electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) progress and capabilities (see “Transformative Vertical Flight 2020,” pg. 38). One such panel covered the use of eVTOL technology for cargo.
In the seven years since 100 invited visionaries gathered in Arlington, Virginia, for the first annual VFS Transformative Vertical Flight (TVF) Workshop, the dream of electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft has progressed from something perceived as a wild-eyed fantasy promoted by secretive companies to a diverse and full-fledged industry.
For the past 11 years, Joby Aviation has been on a quest to develop the ultimate electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft, but few details of the company’s aircraft and progress have been shared with the public.
That changed in January when Joby stepped out of the shadows and released images of the production version of its all-electric, five-seat tiltrotor in conjunction with the announcement of a $590M Series C financing that brought the company’s total funding, including previous rounds, to $720M.
