Coming soon: A personal plane that you can land in your garden

A German start-up company is currently developing a ultra light personal electric plane, the first of its kind, which can be powered from a wall socket, is eco-friendly, and can even take off and land vertically even from the back of your home.

The plane would be a two-seater one, would be entirely electric, and uses a ducted fan so that it can be simpler, quieter and safer than the conventional helicopters.

"Our goal is to develop an aircraft for use in everyday life. We are going for a plane that does not need the complex and expensive infrastructure of an airport," said Daniel Wiegand, CEO of Lilum, the company hosted in a European Space Agency (ESA) business incubator.

"To reduce noise and pollution, we are using electric engines so it can also be used close to urban areas," Daniel added.

The plane, which will have a range of 500 kilometres, will be on sale by 2018.

Talking of the features, it sports a touch screen, fly-by-wire joystick controls, retractable landing gear, wing doors, large storage, panoramic windows and a battery that can be recharged from any wall plug.

"The half-size prototype is already flying and now under test. The full-size unmanned prototype is planned for this summer," said Thorsten Rudolph, CEO of AZO, which runs the incubator, one of many in ESA's Technology Transfer Programme throughout Europe.

"We are helping the Lilium team to turn their idea into a viable business. They are the aircraft experts, and we provide the expertise on how to make a business out of their dream," Rudolph said.

The retail cost of this plane would be far less than any other similar-sized aircraft, with much lower running costs, said the ESA.

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