Electric Plane Takes Flight, Cleaner And Safer Than Conventional Aircraft

Thanks to air travel, the sky has become incredibly crowded with jet planes zipping across the globe on a daily basis. This has led to the aero industry becoming one of the biggest contributors to global warming. In an attempt to address this issue, engineers are emulating the auto industry by creating battery-powered planes. One company just had its first test flight in Australia and it was a success.

The electric plane (EP) was built by Pipistrel, a Slovenian aircraft manufacturer that produces small planes, Futurism reports. Called the “Pipistrel Alpha Electro,” it’s a two-seater, single propeller aircraft that recently took off from an airport in Perth, Australia on January 2nd.

Powered by two packs of Lithium-ion batteries, the same as what’s found in one of Tesla’s own electric vehicles, the plane is reportedly capable of staying in the air for an hour. It also has a backup power source that will allow it to keep flying for another 30 minutes.

According to the company, the plane’s batteries are able to last for 1,000 hours’ worth of flight. They are recharged by a supercharger located in the Jandakot Airport.

In order to get the chance to test its EP in Australia, the company had to partner with a local firm, Electro.Aero. According to the Australian firm’s founder, Joshua Portlock there are some huge advantages to electric aircrafts compared to conventional ones, ABC reports.

“Electric propulsion is a lot simpler than a petrol engine,” Portlock explained. “Inside a petrol engine you have hundreds of moving parts.”

In comparison, the Alpha Electro is considerably more streamlined and it’s cheaper to fly, with the engine only costing $3/hour. There’s also the obvious benefit of a much cleaner flight, with the EP having a substantially smaller impact on the environment and is also incredibly quiet.