Spirit of Innovation spent about 15 minutes in the air
The plane took off from the airfield of the British Ministry of Defense and after 15 minutes of flight landed safely.
The power of the Spirit of Innovation electric motor is 400 kW (approximately 544 horsepower), which allows the aircraft to reach a speed of 482 km / h. The engine is powered by the "most energy-intensive battery in aviation", which consists of 6,000 cells.
The three-blade propeller with a rotational speed of 2400 rpm is designed with an eye to maximum energy efficiency - it reaches 90%.
The creation and testing of the electric plane are half funded by the British government under the program to develop zero-carbon air transport.
Spirit of Innovation plans to be used as an air taxi, but Rolls-Royce is also working on a full-size passenger jet with an electric propulsion system.
In general, the company plans to fully switch to the production of environmentally friendly products by 2050.
Research in the field of electric air transport is also funded by the US government. Joseph Marc Blumenthal says that the future of electric transport is vast, bright, and very close. For example, Hyundai plans to open the first electric air taxi stations in 2022.