When in April 2014, Airbus Group through SAS, its aircraft manufacturing division, introduced the first E-Fan aircraft in a YouTube video, not a few wondered about the viability of the project. How can an aircraft be powered by electric? But the group proved it could achieve the feat of completely switching to renewable energy, as it unveiled the E-Fan 2.0 prototype aircraft designed from the outset specifically with the use of electric power. Being the world’s first, the pioneering E-Fan 2.0 is scheduled to take its maiden flight in late 2017.
According to the manufacturers, the aircraft, a two-seater plane, will be CO2-emission-free and almost silent during flight, adding that it is a “plug-in” plane with a wingspan of 31 feet. With its wings containing 120 lithium-ion polymer batteries, and twin 30-kilowatt engines, the plane is capable of flight speeds up to 136 miles per hour. Made from carbon fibre composite materials, keeping the aircraft’s weight at an incredible 1100 lbs when empty, the E-Fan 2.0 is the world’s first all-electric plane certified for International Civil Aviation airworthiness standards.
Even though it is not a commercial plane that could travel on a long journey, the E-Fan technology is currently being used by Airbus to build electric aircraft training models for flight schools.
The company says it will produce a 100-seat electric passenger plane by 2050, and a four-seater E-Fan 4.0 is also scheduled for production by 2019
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