Somewhere between a luxury car and a personal airplane, the Lilium is a two-seat electric vehicle designed to take off and land vertically, obviating the need for runways and making it a candidate for flying to and from your suburban driveway.

Developed in a European Space Agency business incubator in Bavaria, Germany, the flier is scheduled for release in 2018 and will be the first of its kind.

The fixed-wing design will likely be limited initially to conventional airports, despite its advanced capabilities, but its makers hope that as adoption of the new technology grows new laws will also be made to accommodate fresh capacities for departure and landing anywhere. As of now, the Lilium only needs a patch about 50 by 50 feet to get off and back onto the ground, and has a cruising speed of 250 miles per hour (and range of over 300 miles) – definitely more than your typical commuter car.

“Our goal is to develop an aircraft for use in everyday life,” said Lilium CEO and cofounder Daniel Wiegand. “We are going for a plane that can take off and land vertically and does not need the complex and expensive infrastructure of an airport. To reduce noise and pollution, we are using electric engines so it can also be used close to urban areas.”

The post Lilium: World’s First Vertical-Takeoff Personal Aircraft first appeared on Gajitz.

Photography is part skill, part timing, and a great deal of luck, as the photographer of this incredible scene from nature knows first hand, having captured an stunning series of images showing a crow riding an eagle.

Poo Chan has a great deal of wildlife photography experience, but he would never have guessed that these two birds – both with strong personalities and not known for normal interactions – might align in flight for such a strange moment. And if you like this photo, be sure to check the link above – he is amazing at capturing animals in motion, even aside from this once-in-a-lifetime set of shots.

From the photographer: “Crows are known for aggressively harassing other raptors that are much bigger in size when spotted in their territories and usually these ‘intruders’ simply retreat without much fuss. However, in this frame the crow did not seem to harass the bald eagle at such close proximity and neither did the bald eagle seem to mind the crow’s presence invading its personal space. What made it even more bizarre was that the crow even made a brief stop on the back of the eagle as if it was taking a free scenic ride and the eagle simply obliged.”

The post Naturally Amazing: Crow Catches Free Ride on Bald Eagle first appeared on Gajitz.