When Alastair McIntosh first heard about the Lilium Jet and its array of 36 electric-powered ducted fans, he wasn’t convinced that the new eVTOL design would measure up to the lofty ambitions of the young German start-up company behind the project. At the time, he was managing director and head of engineering and technology with Rolls-Royce Germany, and during a 33-year career with that UK-based aircraft engines giant, he had worked on mighty turbofans such as the 118-inch-diameter Trent XWB, which powers the Airbus A350 widebody airliner. He had also had some involvement with Aurora Flight Science’s experimental hybrid-electric XV-24 Lightning Strike VTOL unmanned aerial vehicle, which featured two dozen ducted fans that bore a passing resemblance to the Lilium architecture.
McIntosh overcame his doubts in December 2020 when he threw caution to the wind and joined Lilium’s growing team of mostly younger engineers as the company’s chief technology officer. Among his colleagues is v-p product Patrick Nathen, who cofounded Lilium in 2015 with fellow graduates from the Technical University of Munich.
