Lilium’s engineering team this week started integrating Garmin’s flight instruments into early examples of its six-passenger eVTOL aircraft. The German manufacturer has received the first delivery of the standby flight instruments that will form part of the Lilium Jet’s avionics suite under a multi-year supplier agreement signed with Garmin in 2023.
The instruments provide a fully redundant backup to the primary cockpit displays to allow pilots to land safely if these fail. The redundancy is part of the basis for the dual type certification Lilium is pursuing with both EASA and the FAA.
Garmin’s standby flight instruments are already used in multiple business and general aviation aircraft and rotorcraft, as well as in airliners and military airplanes. The instruments will have an interface to the Lilium Jet’s flight control computer, providing inertial sensor data such as attitude and acceleration and other key outputs to the flight control system. The touchscreen display works independently of the primary avionics system.
Lilium has been assembling the first of its eVTOL aircraft at the company’s facility near Munich since the end of 2023. It is aiming to start piloted test flights with the first full-scale prototype by late 2024, as it works toward service entry in 2026.
“Our decision to collaborate with Garmin on this critical system followed an extensive evaluation process and we are delighted with the great progress,” said Martin Schuebel, Lilium’s senior vice president for procurement. “The first deliveries confirm once again our strategy of working with tier one aerospace companies with proven experience in delivering products certified to the highest standards of aviation safety.”
New CFO Takes Control
On April 1, Johan Malmqvist joined Lilium as its new chief financial officer. He is taking over from Oliver Vogelgesang, who has been with the company since 2021 when he joined as senior vice president for finance and controlling. Malmqvist was previously CFO with electric vehicle manufacturer Polestar Automotive Holding UK, having previously held the same position with the Dole Food Company, where he played a leading role in a major merger and its reemergence as a public company.