First Flight By 'Spirit of Innovation' All-Electric Aircraft Rolls Royce has announced that the 'Spirit of Innovation' aircraft made its maiden flight. This aircraft is an all-electric aircraft but one that has the most densely power-packed battery setup of any all-electric aircraft. This has big-implications for electric aircraft going-forward. Warren East, CEO, Rolls-Royce said, "The first flight of the 'Spirit of Innovation' is a great achievement for the ACCEL team and Rolls-Royce. We are focused on producing the technology breakthroughs society needs to decarbonize transport across air, land and sea, and capture the economic opportunity of the transition to net zero. This is not only about breaking a world record; the advanced battery and propulsion technology developed for this programme has exciting applications for the Urban Air Mobility market and can help make 'jet zero' a reality."
A few days ago the aircraft took off from the UK Ministry of Defense’s Boscombe Down site and performed a test-flight for just fifteen minutes. Onboard there is a powerful 400kW or 500+horsepower electric powertrain with the most power-dense battery pack ever assembled for an aircraft. The aircraft is part of a wider collaborative effort to provide a tangible way in lowering emissions. approximately half of the project’s funding is being sourced from the Aerospace Technology Institute (ATI), in partnership with the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy and Innovate UK.
The characteristics that ‘air-taxis’ require from batteries are very similar to what is being developed for the ‘Spirit of Innovation’ so that it can reach speeds of 300+ MPH (480+ KMH) – which we are targeting in our world record attempt. In addition, Rolls-Royce and airframer Tecnam are currently working with Widerøe, the largest regional airline in Scandinavia, to deliver an all-electric passenger aircraft for the commuter market, which is planned to be ready for revenue service in 2026. For more information: Rolls-Royce Headquarters Kings Place, 90 York Way, LONDON, N1 9FX, England www.rolls-royce.com ***
