Airbus E-Fan - Fully Battery Powered Plane Officially Flying
The world's first battery powered plane, E fan by Airbus, completed its maiden fight in France and it is indeed a milestone.
The electric airplane has 120 lithium-ion polymer batteries, which have a combined power of 60 Kilowatts. The airplane can achieve a top speed of 220 kmph with this configuration. The most astonishing thing about this battery-powered aircraft is its cost effectiveness. According to its manufacturer, Airbus, an hour long commercial flight with the E-Fan could cost only $16, compared to $55 for a flight in a petrol-powered plane of the same size. This means that the fuel-powered aircraft is about 3.5 times more expensive than this battery-powered plane.
The Airbus E-fan is a small two-seated plane. Unlike other battery-powered aircrafts under trial, this plane is all electric. This means that it does not use fuel at all, and is fully dependent upon the batteries. The company intends to launch advanced versions soon and according to the company, version 2.0 will also be a battery-powered aircraft and will be used to train pilots. Version 4.0 will use a hybrid combustion/electric engine and they intend to use that one for commercial purposes.
The good thing about this battery-powered aircraft is that not only it reduces the cost of air travel, but also carbon emissions by 75 percent. This attribute makes it Eco-friendly as well. Considering the difference in costs of fuel-powered and battery-powered aircrafts, we are hopeful that its commercial version will be a lot cheaper for common public in terms of fares.
