Airbus flies electric aircraft across English Channel
July 10, 2015
Airbus flew its first electric aircraft across the English Channel, performing the opposite journey of French pilot Louis Bleriot in 1909, the first person to fly a plane across the English Channel.
Chief Technical Officer of Airbus Group, Jean Botti, said that Bleriot would be proud of today's achievement:
"The 10th of July 2015 will now join the list of famous days in aviation history," he said.
The future of aviation?
Powered by lithium batteries, the no-emissions-flight was intended to contribute toward establishing a new trend in aviation, allowing short-haul flights to be powered by electricity instead of kerosene in the future.
The two-seater E-Fan model travelled from Lydd in Kent to Calais, France, a distance of 74 kilometers (45 miles). With a wingspan of just under 10 meters (32 feet), the 600-kilogram (1,300-pound) aircraft was able to achieve speeds close to 200 kilometers per hour at a cruising altitude of about 1,000 meters. It managed to complete the journey in just 37 minutes.
The Airbus E-Fan touched down in Calais as intended at 11 a.m. local time (0900 UTC/GMT). Flown by test pilot Didier Esteyne, the all-electric plane had clocked up over 100 hours in preparation flights over the past 12 months ahead of today's historic channel crossing. The completion of the project is estimated to have cost $20 million (17.8 million euros).
Airbus's E-Aircraft projects are headquartered just outside Munich in Germany, where the aircraft producer conducts its research into electric and hybrid propulsion. The electric aircrafts face some rivalry in the shape of solar-powered aircrafts like the Solar Impulse, which is attempting a round-the-world flight in multiple legs.
ss/msh (AP, Airbus)