The Pipstrel Velis Electro is an all-electric, fixed-wing aircraft built in Slovenia, and fully-certified in European Union and United Kingdom. Tom Page writes in CNN Business how future commercial aviators earn their wings while flying it quietly through the air. After these pilots learn to fly on batteries, they should become converts to the green movement, because they experienced the real thing.
Pipstrel Pilots Learn to Fly on Batteries Faster
Pipstrel uses a liquid cooled battery pack from the electric vehicle stable. This comprises cylindrical lithium-ion nickel-manganese-cobalt cells, and delivers these performance statistics:
- Fifty-minute flight time between battery recharging.
- Flight ceiling 12,000 feet, maximum speed 113 mph.
- Two hours to completely recharge dual batteries.
The two batteries are in the nose of the electric aircraft, and behind the cabin respectively. They are wired in parallel, and either of them is capable of standalone operation. Moreover, a single one delivers enough power to support climbing and continuation of flight.
An automated battery management system delivers liquid cooling via two high-power axial fans. Onboard charging is via a port to a proprietary electric charger while stationery. The onboard computer displays system status in real time, using intuitive graphics to display all essential parameters.
Fair Enough But What’s It Like in the Air?
CNN Business reporter Tom Page put the question to Pipstrel’s chief technology officer Tine Tomažič. Well first of all he replied, the Velis Electro uses the same fundamentals as regular aircraft.
‘So you can literally take this airplane home and use it from day one. And that includes for whatever you were using other non-electric powered airplanes for before,’ he adds. However, its virtually silent operation delivers more than zero carbon emissions.
That’s because it can operate from much smaller airports nearer to built-up areas without annoying nearby residents. And this in turn often means less traveling time for instructors and pilots. Clearly there are takers for this idea. Pipstrel sold around 100 electric airplanes since 2020 for around @175,000 each.
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