The electric aircraft
seen to date have focused more on raw utility than thrill-seeking, but
that's about to change very shortly. Air Race E, an air racing
tournament backed by Airbus, has formally unveiled
what it bills as the first electric race aircraft. The Condor
Aviation-made White Lightning looks like a typical competitive
single-seater, but packs an electric motor that can propel it to 300MPH
while handling tight turns on a 3.1-mile circuit at just 33 feet off the
ground.
The lithium battery is short-lived, to put it mildly -- the White
Lightning can last for just five minutes of all-out racing, and 10
minutes of reserve flight at lower power. You won't see any endurance
races with this one. Air Race E chief Jeff Walkman instead describes the
airplane and the tournament as a "test bed" that will foster electric
flight as a whole.
The racing tourney doesn't kick off until 2020,
and some details have yet to be nailed down. Air Race E is only poised
to name the eight teams for the first race later this week. It could
represent a milestone for high-speed electric flight, though, and the
technological discoveries made here could translate to everyday air
travel in the years ahead.
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