歐洲創業公司Lilium垂直起降電動飛機完成首次試飛

The prototype two-seater Lilium Jet, a compact and lightweight electric plane capable of vertical take off and landing, completed an unmanned test earlier this month.

雙座Lilium Jet的原型是一架緊湊又輕便的、能夠垂直起降的電動飛機，它於本月初完成了無人駕駛測試。

"Seeing the Lilium Jet take to the sky and performing sophisticated maneuvers with apparent ease is testament to the skill and perseverance of our amazing team," co-founder and chief exec Daniel Wiegand says in a release.

聯合創始人兼首席執行官丹尼爾·韋根在一份聲明中表示：“看到Lilium Jet飛機能夠輕鬆的飛入高空並進行復雜的飛行，證明了我們這個優秀的團隊的技術和恆心。”

"We have solved some of the toughest engineering challenges in aviation to get to this point."

“我們已經解決了航空中一些最棘手的工程挑戰。”

The egg-shaped aircraft, which can be powered from a wall socket and could even take off from the garden, can ascend and descend vertically, like a helicopter.

這架蛋形飛機可以通過壁式插座充電，甚至也能從花園裏起飛，它可以像直升機那樣垂直升降。

Its 36 jet engines then tilt on moveable flaps from vertical to horizontal to provide forward thrust, with wings providing lift as in a normal airplane.

起飛後，它的36架噴氣引擎會將其可動翼片從垂直方向傾斜到水平位置，以提供向前的推力，其中機翼與正常飛機的相同。

The Lilium Jet, which creates no harmful emissions and is quieter than conventional aircraft, is estimated to have a range of about 300 kilometers and a maximum cruising speed of 300 kilometers per hour.

這種Lilium Jet不會產生有害排放物，比傳統飛機更安靜，飛行距離大概約爲300公里，最大巡航速度爲300公里/小時。

For maximum safety, each of the engines is individually shielded, so failure in one can't affect the others.

爲了最大程度的安全起見，每臺發動機都是單獨防護的，所以一臺發動機的故障不會影響到其他發動機。

Sophisticated sensors prevent the pilot from performing maneuvers beyond the jet's predetermined safe flight parameters.

先進的傳感器還可以防止飛行員執行超出飛機預定安全飛行參數的操作。

The company, which was started by four Munich university graduates in 2015, says the aircraft is designed to be flown in good weather conditions in uncongested airspace in the daylight.

2015年，四名慕尼黑大學的畢業生創立了此公司。他們表示，該飛機的設計是在晴好的天氣條件下，於白天在不擁擠的空域內飛行。

"In the longer term, our target is to build an aircraft that not only the super-rich can afford, and that can make private air transportation possible for a much wider number of people," says Weigand.

韋根表示：“從長遠來看，我們的目標是打造一架不只是超級富豪才能負擔得起的飛機，並可以讓更多的人進行私人飛行成爲可能。”