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Old July 7th 17, 05:05 PM posted to rec.aviation.piloting
Larry Dighera
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Posts: 3,953
Default Lilium Aviation flies prototype of its 160-knot all-electric VTOL

On Tue, 4 Jul 2017 23:21:41 -0700 (PDT),
wrote:

This company's efforts fit very well with the legacy that Otto Lilienthal started in Germany. Having pioneered heavier than air flight, Germany is a fitting place for flying cars to come into their own.


While I have great respect for the late German aviation pioneer Otto
Lilienthal https://youtu.be/t-XC0dxerYs
http://british-hang-gliding-history.com/1971/articles/larry-dighera-cert-1971.html
who gave his life for human flight saying, "Sacrifices must be made," I'm
not sure it is proper to assert that "Germany is a fitting place for flying
cars to come into their own."

It would seem the recent Chinese acquisition of Boston-based flying car
developer Terrafugia may lend credence to the notion that that sentiment may
belong to the USA:
http://www.xconomy.com/boston/2017/0...tomaker-geely/
https://www.engadget.com/2017/07/05/...g-car-startup/
==================================================

Gregory T. Huang
July 5th, 2017
Xconomy Boston —
Terrafugia, a Boston-area company that has been working on flying cars since
2006, is being acquired by Zhejiang Geely Holding Group, an automotive
manufacturer based in Hangzhou, China. Terms of the deal have not been
disclosed.

The news was first reported by the South China Morning Post, but Xconomy has
independently been tracking rumors about the acquisition. According to a
source with knowledge of the deal, the transaction size is modest, but Geely
plans to invest in flying-car technologies and put its automaker resources
behind Terrafugia’s approach.

Terrafugia co-founder and CEO Carl Dietrich (pictured above in 2013) and
board member Semyon Dukach both declined to comment on the news.

Geely (pronounced Jee-lee) is a 30-year-old multinational company that owns
brands such as Volvo and The London Taxi Company. It also owns a majority
stake in Lotus Cars.

There is always strong interest in flying cars, but the past year has seen
some major developments. Google co-founder Larry Page was outed as having
started not one, but two companies working on flying-car
technologies—Zee.Aero and Kitty Hawk. (Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos can’t be far
behind.) Kitty Hawk recruited self-driving car pioneer Sebastian Thrun to
serve as its CEO.

Terrafugia’s founding team of MIT grads originally set out to build a
“roadable aircraft”—a flying vehicle for private pilots that could land on a
runway, quickly fold up its wings, and drive on public roads. The company’s
first product, called Transition, has been flight- and road-tested; it has a
long list of customer pre-orders but hasn’t shipped yet (list price
$279,000). More recently, the company has been working on a next-generation
product called TF-X, a hybrid-electric flying car with vertical takeoff and
landing capabilities—as well as autonomous flying features.

As of 2013, Woburn, MA-based Terrafugia had raised a little over $10 million
in financing from angel investors and $1.25 million in U.S. defense
contracts. The company has raised more money since then, but the amount
wasn’t disclosed; New York-based Transcendent Holdings and Beijing-based
Haiyin Capital are also investors in the company. (Dietrich and Terrafugia
participated in a Boston-area event organized by Haiyin Capital in the fall
of 2015.)

As a small company, Terrafugia has taken a long time to get its product to
market. Then again, no one else has successfully sold a flying car yet. It
sounds like Geely’s backing and car-manufacturing facilities could greatly
advance Terrafugia’s vision—if the integration and cultural issues can be
sorted out.

One question is whether China’s regulatory environment might be more
conducive to flying cars and other transportation technologies than that of
the United States. Terrafugia has made good progress with the U.S. Federal
Aviation Administration in recent years, but Chinese cities and roadways
have unique issues (you think your commute is bad).

Another thread here is increasing competition between Chinese and U.S.
technology companies—particularly in areas like artificial intelligence,
robotics, and hardware—even as more U.S. firms are looking to China for
investors and partners. If the balance of power is shifting, Terrafugia’s
sale to Geely is one more data point.