EADS, a major Airbus consortium member, unveiled a new single-seat, four-engine aircraft at the Green Aviation Show in Paris. It is the world’s first all-electric powered, fully aerobatic four-engine aircraft design. Based on Michael Colomban’s Cri-Cri aircraft from the 1970s, this new electric version is tests electric power plant technology employing four brushless electric motors with counter rotating propellers and lithium batteries, giving it a 30 minute flight time, zero emissions during flight and low noise. It carries the batteries in a composite stiffened new airframe.
EADS expects the all-electric aircraft to have 30 minutes of cruise flight at 110kph (68mph), 15 minutes of aerobatics at speeds up to 250kph (155mph) and a climb rate of approximately 5.3m/sec (17.4ft/sec).
Via Wired & IndustryWeek
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