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By Bjorn Fehrm

August 24, 2023, © Leeham News: We have looked at the promises the VTOL industry made in their Investor prospects and what the reality is as the VTOLs come closer to Certification and production.

We started by using Joby and Archer as examples; now, we wrap the series by looking at some other top VTOL OEMs and how their claims have changed as the projects come closer to reality.

Figure 1. The Lilium jet VTOL. Source: Lilium.

Summary:

• Joby Aviation and Archer are not alone in backpedaling on promised performance as certification nears; other OEMs that are investor-financed have the same problem.
• In summary, the VTOLs in the first generation can only fly short-range missions. Longer flights run into energy reserve and cost problems.