Pipistrel, a small electric aircraft company we’ve covered several times, has a small electric airplane called the Velis Electro. The Velis Electro got its “first type approval” from the EU aviation security authority and is ready for an adventure. It is going to fly more than 700 kilometers from the Swiss Alps to the North Sea.
These are the 7 world records Pipistrel’s Velis Electro intends to break:
- Lowest energy consumption (kWh / 100 km) over 700 km
- Highest average speed over 700 km (km/h)
- Highest flight altitude ever reached with an electric aircraft (meter above main sea level)
- Fastest climbing performance from 0–1000 m / 1000–2000 m / 2000–3000 m (m/s)
- Fastest average speed over 100 km (km/h)
- Smallest number of intermediate stops over a distance of 700 km (number of stops)
- Longest electrically flown route in 24/48/56 hours (km)
Friends of Electromobility, a Swiss organization supporting Pipistrel, notes that the Velis Electro’s realistic range is 100 km. That means at least 6 stops in between departure and final destination, but that’s just a theoretical number. In reality, the team is expecting 11 stops, Teslamag writes. The issue is the flight route is practically zigzag — “it necessarily leads from small airport to small airport, each of which, according to the team, must also have at least one socket with 32 amperes.” Here’s a video animation of the route:
A team will also drive from airport to airport with charging equipment (in Teslas, naturally) to help with the charging once the Velis Electro gets there.
A livestream of the adventure is planned.
Friends of Electromobility explains how this organization and adventure came about: “The group could not have been thrown together more unusually and was brought together by the futurologist Morell Westermann: The Swiss pilot Marco Buholzer heads the only electric flight school in the world, while the creative idea generator Tobi Pape works as a brewer on Norderney. With Tom Albrecht as video and music producer and Malik Aziz as a member of the largest German-language electromobility podcast ‘CleanElectric’, experienced media and communication professionals are on board. All five are already driving electrically on the ground and have founded the “Friends of Electromobility” association.”
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