Electric Planes...Sooner Than You Think

Are times changing?

The existence of electric planes is on the rise. A number of either hybrid or full electric prototypes are currently under development. The XTi Trifan by XTI Aircraft Company, the Sun Flyer 2 from BYE Aerospace, the Airbus/Daher Socata E-Fan and the Magnus Aircraft E-Fusion are some of these planes that are set to bring Electric Aircraft flight more and more as a reality. Now many of these are prototypes under development and are stepping stones for much larger, scaled-up planes. The question is, will energy storage parallel the growing interest in the segment? And can business aviation make a business model out of it?

It is really starting to take off at least on the development front. I have come across a few others in recent weeks and in different applications.

What about Eviation and their All-electric Eviation Alice. It features three-props that are going to be provided by Hartzell. It is a 9-seat aircraft that is capable of flying just over 560 nautical miles. "Eviation's new aircraft provides an exciting opportunity to be a part of the next generation in aircraft powered by electricity," said Joe Brown, Hartzell Propeller President.

Here was I thinking, now going to see some flying action lol.

Last week, the Solar Stratos team was supposed to attempt two world firsts in their SolarStratos aircraft. After a brief climb, Raphaël Domjan was to jump from his solar plane and perform a free fall over Payerne airfield, before landing in front of the team's base. Two world premieres were to have been attempted on this occasion. First jump in history made from an electric plane as well as the First solar free fall. SolarStratos wanted to demonstrate to the world that with current technologies it is possible to achieve feats that exceed the potential of fossil fuels.