Electric aircraft!

[wags]

Have a look here.... Yuneec - Aircraft_Specification

 

With extended battery pack it has about 3 hrs endurance.

 

 

[Guest ozzie]

Instructors are going to love the quiet working environment. It seems that someone may have the Australian agency for it already. wonder who!

 

These are the same people who supply Flightstar and build a powered backpack for paragliders. I predict that within five years a lot of schools will seriously look at retrofitting their existing jabs ect with electric power. Exciting times ahead.

 

 

[Guest burbles1]

I've had my eye on the Yuneec website for several months. A claimed 2.5-hour endurance will only be good enough for ab initio training and paddock hopping. Once you get into x/c, this endurance is a major limitation. It would be good to have some sort of swap 'n go recharging facility at aerodromes, so that long flights are more feasible (although still in short hops).

 

 

[Thalass]

I saw this a few months ago, and it looks good to me!

 

With it's large aspect ratio, I'd say it could possibly be used as a motorglider, perhaps, which would increase the endurance as long as there were thermals around, and you were into that sort of thing.

 

As much as I'm into electric vehicles (I'm planning a motorcycle conversion) I don't see battery-electric aircraft being practical until lithium-air batteries are commercially available at the earliest. But I'd like to see a series-hybrid aircraft and how it compares to a similar piston or gas turbine aircraft. Ideally what you need is a Mr.Fusion like in Back to the Future 2 hehe

 

 

[Guest JRMobile]

Sweet looking aircraft - sign me up!

 

Is it true that China is leading the way with battery technologies?