VoltAir is a wholly owned subsidiary of Airbus which is developing a proposed electrically powered airliner that was publicly announced in 2011. [1] [2] The preliminary concept drawings released at that time showed a low unswept wing on a conventional small-diameter fuselage. A large duct at the fuselage's rear contains two counter-rotating propellers, which would be driven by two large electric motors. Power would be supplied by a lithium-air battery pack mounted in a detachable pod on the lower fuselage nose, where it could be removed and replaced as part of the normal airport turnaround process in passenger-carriage service.
Lithium-air batteries rely on oxidation of lithium to produce their current flow. The technology holds the potential of providing much greater energy density than lithium-ion batteries.
As part of the development process, a smaller prototype called the Airbus E-Fan was built and flown in 2014. The first flight was from the company's facility in Bordeaux, France. [3] The E-Fan is a composite, tandem two-seat low-wing aircraft. Two ducted fans are mounted on either side of its aft fuselage; each fan is driven by an electric motor of 30 kW maximum output. The batteries are lithium-ion type, sized to provide about 30 minutes of flight time.
The Dassault Mercure is a twin-engined narrow-body jet-powered airliner developed and manufactured by French aircraft firm Dassault Aviation. According to Dassault, it was the first large-scale European cooperative civil aeronautics programme.
An airplane, or aeroplane, informally plane, is a fixed-wing aircraft that is propelled forward by thrust from a jet engine, propeller, or rocket engine. Airplanes come in a variety of sizes, shapes, and wing configurations. The broad spectrum of uses for airplanes includes recreation, transportation of goods and people, military, and research. Worldwide, commercial aviation transports more than four billion passengers annually on airliners and transports more than 200 billion tonne-kilometers of cargo annually, which is less than 1% of the world's cargo movement. Most airplanes are flown by a pilot on board the aircraft, but some are designed to be remotely or computer-controlled such as drones.
A blended wing body (BWB), also known as blended body or hybrid wing body (HWB), is a fixed-wing aircraft having no clear dividing line between the wings and the main body of the craft. The aircraft has distinct wing and body structures, which are smoothly blended together with no clear dividing line. This contrasts with a flying wing, which has no distinct fuselage, and a lifting body, which has no distinct wings. A BWB design may or may not be tailless.
A miniature UAV, small UAV (SUAV), or drone is an unmanned aerial vehicle small enough to be man-portable. Smallest UAVs are called micro air vehicle.
A trijet is a jet aircraft powered by three jet engines. In general, passenger airline trijets are considered to be second-generation jet airliners, due to their innovative engine locations, in addition to the advancement of turbofan technology. Trijets are more efficient than quadjets, but not as efficient as twinjets, which replaced trijets as larger and more reliable turbofan engines became available.
An electric aircraft is an aircraft powered by electricity. Electric aircraft are seen as a way to reduce the environmental effects of aviation, providing zero emissions and quieter flights. Electricity may be supplied by a variety of methods, the most common being batteries. Most have electric motors driving propellers or turbines.
A hydrogen-powered aircraft is an aeroplane that uses hydrogen fuel as a power source. Hydrogen can either be burned in a jet engine or another kind of internal combustion engine, or can be used to power a fuel cell to generate electricity to power an electric propulsor. It cannot be stored in a traditional wet wing, and hydrogen tanks have to be housed in the fuselage or be supported by the wing.
The Scaled Composites Model 367 BiPod is an experimental flying car developed by Scaled Composites. It was the final aircraft designed by Burt Rutan prior to his retirement.
The Electric Aircraft Corporation ElectraFlyer-C is an American experimental electric aircraft that was designed by Randall Fishman and produced by his company Electric Aircraft Corporation in 2008. The aircraft is a converted Monnett Moni motor glider intended to test electric propulsion technology for the future Electric Aircraft Corporation ElectraFlyer-X.
Boeing Truss-Braced Wing are airliner designs studied by Boeing with braced, high aspect ratio wings.
The Airbus E-Fan is a prototype two-seater electric aircraft that was under development by Airbus. It was flown in front of the world press at the Farnborough Airshow in the United Kingdom in July 2014. The target market was intended to be pilot training, but production of the aircraft was cancelled in April 2017.
The NASA X-57 Maxwell is an experimental aircraft being developed by NASA, intended to demonstrate technology to reduce fuel use, emissions, and noise. The first flight of the X-57 is scheduled to take place in 2023.
The Lilium Jet is a prototype German electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) electrically powered airplane designed by Lilium GmbH. A seven-seat production version is planned.
The Eviation Alice is an electric aircraft designed to accommodate nine passengers and two crew members. Currently under development, its construction incorporates 95% composite material, is powered by two electric motors, and has a T-tail. The prototype first flew on 27 September 2022.
The Bye Aerospace Sun Flyer is an electric aircraft that was developed from the PC-Aero Elektra One by Bye Aerospace's Aero Electric Aircraft Corporation division of Denver, Colorado, United States, introduced in 2015. The company had a license agreement and engineering contract for the design with Calin Gologan, the Elektra One's designer.
Bye Aerospace is an American aircraft manufacturer based in unincorporated Arapahoe County, Colorado. The company specializes in the design and manufacture of electric aircraft, including unmanned aircraft for geospatial role and light aircraft for the flight training role. The company was founded by George E. Bye, who remains the CEO.
The XTI TriFan 600 is a vertical takeoff and landing aircraft currently under development by XTI Aircraft Company.
The VoltAero Cassio is a family of hybrid electric aircraft being developed by startup company VoltAero. The company plans to produce three configurations of the Cassio aircraft: the four-place Cassio 330, the six-place Cassio 480, and the ten-place Cassio 600.
A hybrid electric aircraft is an aircraft with a hybrid electric powertrain. As the energy density of lithium-ion batteries is much lower than aviation fuel, a hybrid electric powertrain may effectively increase flight range compared to pure electric aircraft. By May 2018, there were over 30 hybrid electric aircraft projects, and short-haul hybrid-electric airliners were envisioned from 2032.
An electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft is a variety of VTOL aircraft that uses electric power to hover, take off, and land vertically. This technology came about thanks to major advances in electric propulsion and the emerging need for new aerial vehicles for urban air mobility that can enable greener and quieter flights. Electric and hybrid propulsion systems (EHPS) have also the potential of lowering the operating costs of aircraft.