E-Fan – electric aircraft, the first Airbus

Electric vehicles are usually called electric cars. But according to European manufacturer Airbus time to launch electricity in the sky. The company presented a prototype of its first electric plane. It screws rotate electric motors fed by batteries.

Borrowing from the idea of brands, Airbus decided that aviation and ground transportation can be green, causing minimal damage to the environment. Presented on April 25 in Bordeaux, the plane E-Fan is only the first small step of a huge Corporation to promote clean technologies. Airbus plans to market aerial vehicles for regional lines with hybrid power plants.





According to aircraft manufacturers, announced at the Munich chief technical officer of Airbus Group Jean Botti (Jean Botti), the development of such models with a capacity of 70-90 passengers who would be taking off and sat down on electricity, may take 15-20 years. As a tentative date for the appearance of a working prototype of a hybrid aircraft Botti called 2030.

Shown in Bordeaux E-Fan developed by Airbus engineers together with ACS and the French civil aviation authority. A prototype of a small airplane with a wingspan of 9.5 m and a total length of 6.7 m was first presented to the public in 2013 in Le Bourget.

Demonstration flight in Bordeaux lasted only 10 minutes, but during the tests electric aircraft spent in the air for about 15 hours. Double machine is not designed for long-haul flights. Capacity lithium-polymer battery is enough to ensure the operation of two electric motors with a total power of 60 kW for approximately 30 minutes, but Airbus is trying to increase flight duration to 1 hour. The expression Botti, batteries — the main source of headaches for designers.

To save power while taxiing on the runway, one of the wheels of the chassis equipped with its own small electric motor, which allows you to move with speed to 55 km/h.

Speed E-Fan in the air reaches 177 km/h. According to Airbus, the aircraft can be used for short-term missions for training pilots, towing gliders or to perform aerobatics. The company plans mass production of electroanalyt, which may begin at the plant in Bordeaux at the end of 2017.

Speaking during the demonstration, the French economy Minister expressed the opinion that the appearance of such cars as the E-Fan only the beginning, followed by profound changes in the aviation industry. According to him, the planes that make noise nothing more than domestic "electrofan for hair", "cause of joy" in people living near airports.







Source: facepla.net