DEC 04

It's possible that this plane just flew 200 feet over your house and you didn't hear it. Yes...it's extremely unlikely (since there aren't very many of them) but it's possible.

It's one of the world's first electric airplanes, and it may very well be the most carbon efficient plane (not glider) in the world. Randall Fishman, a retired Jeweler, created the ElectraFlyer-C because he wanted a silent plane that would be "as smooth as a magic carpet." We guess that the environmental benefit was secondary to him. PopMech reported that it "might be the world's first fully electric-powered airplane" but we've seen a couple of them here at EcoGeek.

Fishman is selling kits on his website, so (if you happen to be an environmental conscious pilot) you can make one for yourself. And by 2010, he hopes to be selling completed two-seaters for purchase.

The plane is a modified glider that was retrofitted to allow for the extra weight of two lithium-ion battery packs. The plane had to be jacked up to allow for a larger propeller. But now the li-ion packs can push the plane to 70 mph for 90 minutes (which should get yout to and from work every morning, if you're interested.) The plane charges overnight, and it takes about 70 cents of electricity to do so.

The coolest thing might be that Fishman can flip a switch in his cockpit that turns the propeller into a wind powered generator. So, upon landing, he can use the propeller to both decelerate the plane and charge the batteries for the next flight! Man that's cool!

Via Popular Mechanics

Comments (7)

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written by Mark Kiernan, December 05, 2008

How much is it?

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I wonder...
written by bc, December 05, 2008

could you use your 90 minutes of airtime to gain enough distance and altitude to switch the charger on, glide down from altitude while recharging the battery to get enough power to climb up again and keep going forward.... Might be a very up & down kind of way to get where you're going but for 70 cents it wouldnt be too bad !

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Yes, I think it did!
written by Sam, December 06, 2008

This picture shows the closest thing I've found to an unusual aircraft I actually did see flying over my house a few months ago. I seem to recall it made kind of a low purring sound. My husband can identify virtually every airplane that's ever existed, but couldn't give me even a guess when I described it to him. I looked up experimental aircraft and again couldn't find even a clue. So, I'm really happy to have a mystery probably solved, and to think that my fairly laggard area for environmental innovations (Louisville) hosted this cool thing!

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PLANTAS ELÈCTRICAS DE ENERGIA RENOVABLE
written by CARLOS UCRÃ’S PIEDRAHITA, December 07, 2008

HOLA SOY EL COLOMBIANO QUE DISEÑO EL SISTEMA DE RETARDO DE DESCARGA DE LAS BATERIAS Y HASI LOGRE ARMAR UN KITS-UCROS Y DARLE AUTONOMIA POR 5 AÑOS Y EN ESE TIEMPO SOLO SE RENPLASAN LAS 4 UNICAS BATERIAS DE 12 VOL DC. Y ACTUAL MENTE BUSCO UN EMPRESARIO QUE ME PATROCINE MI INNOVACIÒN MI TEL 0058-212-2428643 CARACAS

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Add solar panels to that bad boy
written by Freeflydude, December 12, 2008

You'd probably get a little longer than 90 minutes with some solar panels on the top. Every little bit helps.

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written by murad, December 14, 2008

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written by Anthony, December 15, 2008

What will make this more interesting in a few years are the results of research currently under weigh. The US Air Force has research documented about making fabric capacitors - building them into the frame of the aircraft - to help power high energy draw devices. These capacitors could be (in future versions) lighter-weight alternatives to the batteries.

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