Airbus Unveils Electric, Two-Seater Plane

  • 10 years ago
In 2017, there should be a new electric plane gaining fans in the aviation market. It’s called the Airbus E-Fan 2.0

In 2017, an electric plane called the Airbus E-Fan 2.0 is planned to hit the aviation market.

The craft recently took to the skies at the Farnborough International Airshow in the UK. The plane is currently only a two seater, but Airbus staffers believe it will be a hit for pilot training.

In the future the company hopes to develop a four-seater version called the E-Fan 4.0 which will expand the market a bit. Earlier this year, the company began publicly flying a prototype of the E-Fan 2.0 to gear fans up for its appearance at Farnborough.

Presently battery weight and limited flight time constricts their practicality, but Airbus believes electric aircraft will become crucial in the future in an effort to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions from conventional plane exhaust.

As another bonus, electric aircrafts are far quieter, which means they can be flown at times that are currently prohibited. That will allow airlines to plan more flights.

The E-Fan 2.0 weighs 1,100-pounds and features two 30kW electric motors that power dual fans and a 120-cell 10kW lithium battery. The aircraft can fly for about one hour before a reserve battery has to be switched on, which will provide an extra 15 minutes of flight.

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