While electric vehicles are gaining popularity in the automotive world, the aviation industry is also looking into ways to clean up its act.
French firm Airbus is best known for its large passenger jets — including the double-deck Airbus A380 — but its latest project is rather smaller.
The E-FAN is a small experimental aircraft powered entirely by electricity.
It’s small, much quieter than a typical combustion-engined light aircraft, and cuts the cost of an hour-long flight from around $55 to just $16 — so it has the same economic benefits as its electric road-going cousins.
According to Inhabitat, it uses 120 lithium-ion polymer battery cells. These are stored in the wings, freeing up space in the cabin, while propulsion is handled by two electric ducted fans mounted either side of the tail.
Each of these develops around 30 kilowatts, so the aircraft’s combined power output is around 80 horsepower, enough for a 136 mph top speed.
computermagazine