Charles Alcock is managing editor of the AIN Media Group, having rejoined the company in 2019. He has been an aviation journalist since 1986, and previously worked for AIN from 1990 to 2017, most recently as editor-in-chief. His main focus is on covering new aviation technology and business models, as well as international news.
Having been raised in the London area, Alcock studied at the University of Manchester in the UK and earned an honors degree in Politics and Modern History. He speaks English and French, and some German.

Managing Editor

Lilium Jet has been very measured and selective about how it communicates its plans to develop distinctive its ducted-fan eVTOL aircraft. For months, it seemed the German company could not be comment publicly on its plans. Then rivals like Volocopter and EHang started getting extensive media coverage and a few drips of information were released to the media. So when I saw the link below to a presentation given in the first week of November 2019 at the Web Summit in Portugal's capital Lisbon, I was eager to hear&nbsp;how illuminating Lilium Jet CEO Daniel Wiegand might be. The Lilium founder was joined on the stage by David Wallerstein, the self-styled chief exploration officer with one of Lilium's main financial backers, Tencent.&nbsp;
The carefully scripted presentation largely sought to convey the Lilium belief system, with an evangelistic pitch about the anticipated role of eVTOL aircraft in the "Green Revolution."&nbsp;I craved more detail on how the ambitious development program is actually progressing, but the 20-minute investment did provide some worthwhile insights into the corporate culture at Lilium and Tencent. "Smooth, digital, elegant and exciting," were Wiegand's key adjectives in describing what he sees Lilium Jet bringing to consumers. He spoke compellingly about how a student pipe dream, inspired by seeing the V-22 Osprey military tiltrotor, led him to his mission of providing a transformational transportation experience to unlock the worsening gridlock gripping mankind's seemingly unstoppable urbanization.
Wallerstein chimed in repeatedly to stress that the "Green Revolution" doesn't mean having to "step back and do less." Evidently, we can have it all. If Lilium can deliver its promised range of almost 200 miles, it will indeed be a game changer for an all-electric aircraft—albeit not quite far enough to ferry environmental campaigner Greta Thunberg from exile on the U.S. East Coast to the relocated UN Climate summit in Spain. Lilium says its goal is to expand our "Radius of Life" and it illustrated this with a map of the New York City area and how affordable transportation options up to almost as far as Boston could be expanded by its aircraft.
But there were some worthwhile takeway factoids, including the following:
* Based on all five passenger seats being occupied, Lilium Jet projects that the aircraft can be up to 20 times more productive than a ground-based taxi over its working lifetime—even taking account of the fact that the pilot will earn more than a taxi driver and that it could cost 10 times more to produce the eVTOL aircraft than a taxi cab. Wiegand reported that energy costs alone&nbsp;will be around €6.20 per passenger per kilometer flown, which converts to (around $10.66 per mile). He claimed that the equivalent figures for an electric taxi cab would be&nbsp;€9&nbsp;per kilometer or around $14.40 per mile (or two to three times higher for a gas-powered car). For a conventional helicopter, he said the figure would be €108 ($116).
* The presentation showed impressive photos of ground facilities envisaged to support Lilium operations. One image included a launch pad built on a sun-kissed hillside next to a vineyard, just a short hop from Silicon Valley. Wiegand estimated the cost of developing a remote vertiport like this at around $500,000 and Wallerstein was quick to add that the relatively low set-up costs would make eVTOL aircraft suitable for applications in the developing world.
* Lilium claims its aircraft will be 10 times quieter than a helicopter. Wasserstein described noise levels as close to "36 hair dryers."
One thing the Web Summit did not share with the admiring tech-crowd audience is when Lilium Jet test flights will achieve the significant full transition from vertical to horizontal cruise modes. Critics have pointed out that test flight videos do not show this milestone having been reached, arguing that the aircraft—with a projected average cruise speed of 250 km/h—has yet to even reach its estimated stall speed of around 100 km/h.

Charles Alcock

Lilium Jet Founder Preaches the Green Gospel of Urban Air Mobility

2024 Corporate Aviation Leadership Summit

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