The "world's first" electric plane capable of taking off vertically has successfully completed test flights in the skies above Germany.
The two-seater prototype jet is designed by Munich start-up Lilium as an airborne alternative to on-demand taxi and ride-sharing services, such as Uber and Lift.
During the flight tests, which took place on the 21 April, the jet executed a range of complex manoeuvres. These included taking off vertically like a helicopter, before accelerating into forward flight like a commercial aircraft.
Although the jet was piloted remotely for its first voyage, Lilium hopes to test a manned flight in the near future. It also plans to launch a five-seater version of the same craft.

According to the company, the jet ? which is powered by 36 separate jet engines ? is the only electric aircraft capable of both vertical take-off and jet-powered flight. Lilium's CEO Daniel Wiegand said the company had solved some of the "toughest engineering challenges in aviation" with the design.
"The successful test flight programme shows that our ground-breaking technical design works exactly as we envisioned," he said. "We can now turn our focus to designing the five-seater production aircraft."

The company claims the plane would be particularly beneficial to those living in cities, and predicts it would be at least five times faster than travelling by car.
"?The combination of energy-efficient flight and minimal ground ...