The largest electric aircraft in the world made its first flight in Washington, USA. It is a Cessna aircraft that was given the name “eCaravan”. The builders of the aircraft hope that it is the beginning of sustainable and environmentally friendly flying and traveling.
The plane made a total flight of 28 minutes. It flew over the Washington area at more than 160 kilometers per hour at an altitude of about 750 meters.
This is unique because the Cessna plane is the largest fully-electric plane in the world that ever took to the air.
On board, it has a 750 horsepower electric motor and more than 900 kilograms of lithium-ion batteries. The “eCaravan” weighs a total of 4 tons and can accommodate nine passengers.
Battery
Electric flying is seen as the future of the aviation industry. Flying on kerosene is, therefore, enormously polluting. Electric motors today are powerful and innovative enough to fly.
The greatest difficulty is the battery. It often offers insufficient power to get an aircraft off the ground.
Roei Ganzarski, CEO of the American magniX, which developed the aircraft, is delighted with the first flight of the electric Cessna.
“Electric flying can be a perfect alternative for flights of up to 1,500 kilometers,” he says.
“Too often, large, and polluting aircraft are still used for such short flights. This is a waste of fuel and money. For example, half an hour flying an electric plane costs just over 7 dollars in electricity, while flying an internal combustion engine plane costs 260 dollars in kerosene,” says the CEO.
