The age of electric aircraft has begun, and it includes Rolls-Royce’s all-electric ‘Spirit of Innovation’ plane. It successfully completed its maiden flight, thanks to its 400kW (500+hp) electric powertrain boasting the most power-dense battery pack ever assembled for an aircraft.
While electric commercial / personal aircraft hasn’t been approved by the FAA, the Lilium 7-Seater Jet is well ahead of the game. Featuring a projected cruise speed of 175 mph at 10,000 feet and a range of 155+ miles, including reserves, it’s the result of five years of technology development across four generations of technology demonstrators. The company applied for concurrent type certification for a high-capacity aircraft with EASA as well as the FAA back in 2018 and so far received CRI-A01 certification basis from the former.
NASA has officially revealed its first all-electric X-plane, the X-57 Maxwell, which is currently being prototyped in several phases of operation at the Armstrong Flight Research Center located inside the Edwards Air Force Base. In addition to being NASA’s first piloted X-plane in two decades, this configuration boasts a skinny, high-aspect ratio wing, designed specially to boost efficiency by reducing drag in flight.