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The Rise Of The Electric Plane

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The use of electricity to power our mode of transportation has become more of a reality. Subways and rail cars have been running on electricity have for years. Cars running on electricity have started becoming more main stream as more major manufacturers are releasing them to the public. So, it goes without saying, that some thought has been put into building air craft that can run on electricity.

Some thought has already been put into this, actually. In fact, quite a bit of real world example exist in the world already.

 

What is an electric plane?

As its name implies, an electric plane is one that runs with electric motors. It does not use the typical combustion engine powered by fuel. An electric motor can use fuel cells, solar cells or batteries as its main source of power. Some may be surprised to learn that electric planes have been around since the 1970s. However, despite the length of time, these electric planes are still in an experimental phase. They come in manned an unmanned models.

In 1973 the first manned electrical plane was used. West Germany built the Militky MB-E1 fully sized air plane. It was able to fly for 12 minutes using Ni-Cd batteries powering a 10 kW DC motor that had an 13 horse power output.

In 1979 solar power was used as a source of power in the Mauro Solar Riser. This was built as a biplane hang glider. It used photovoltaic cells that produced 30 volts of power to generate a Hughes 500 helicopter batter attached to an electric motor.

Since the 1970s there have been dozens of project using electricity to power air planes. They have used all sorts of power sources to generate electricity for the motors.

Image From bauhaus-luftfahrt

Image From bauhaus-luftfahrt

Some commercial aircraft makers have gotten in on the development of aircraft. Airbus is developing an electric aircraft called the E-Fan. They are building it in conjunction with Aero Composite Saintonge. They completed a test flight in 2014 at Merignac Airport in France. Their goal is to develop these into a potential commercial regional aircraft.

The use of electricity as a fuel source for aircraft has exciting implications. It can significantly reduce the cost of fuel for airlines which could translate in better fares one the technology is developed fully. Furthermore, it has a positive impact on the environment as jet fuel can be harmful.

But a concept presented by research institution Bauhaus Luftfahrt at this week’s ILA Berlin Air Show makes that vision of air travel more relevant, efficient, and downright cool.

The recently unveiled Ce-Liner is a fully electric commercial passenger plane that would carry nearly 200 travelers between continents and over oceans. To develop it, Bauhaus Luftfahrt is using a variety of new technologies.

The distinctive “C-wing” improves aerodynamic efficiency and makes the goal of powering transatlantic flights with electricity more viable. The research institution predicts that battery technology will advance enough by 2030 to allow a flight range of nearly 700 miles. That will jump to 1,000 miles by 2035, and to 1,600 miles by 2040.

This may be a glimpse into the future of electric planes and how this will impact the cost of a flight since there is no fuel involved.

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