An electric plane has made its US debut in test flights at Hobby Airport in Houston.
Matt Brofman, head of Partnerships and Network Development at Lilium Aviation, says the plane takes off, lands like a helicopter, flies like a plane, and is very quiet.
"From the neighboring property of the aircraft taking off, it would be at 60 decibels, which, you know, is essentially the sound of the dishwasher, Brofman says. "So it's an incredibly quiet aircraft which will enable us, over time, to take off and land in areas today that you wouldn't want a helicopter landing or taking off and when it's flying overhead, you wouldn't even hear it."
First the plane has to be cleared by federal regulators. He says the goal is to start selling these six seaters by 2026. It flies at 175 miles an hour, and when it debuts will have a range of 110 miles.
Brofman says the range will grow and by 2035 they'll be able to fly from Houston to Dallas. The list price, which includes support services, is 10 million dollars. He says the goal is to sell them to operators running them as shuttles.
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