The Cri-Cri that set the record used two 35-horsepower electric motors made by Electravia. They were fitted with custom propellers designed for the flight. Sleek motor cowlings helped minimize drag, and the company claims the speed was achieved using only 75 percent power. More power would have been used, but the Cri-Cri airframe is not designed to exceed 161 mph even if the team went one over that. Electravia claims the engines and propellers could have pulled the tiny single-seater past 220 mph.

It’s a remarkable accomplishment, one that shows electric aviation is following a path trod by the earliest aviators. The first electric flights, made just a few years ago, were slow, short and did little more than demonstrate it was possible — much like the early Wright brothers flights.

And like some contemporaries of the Wright brothers, many people view electric aircraft as mere toys that will have no practical value. But electric aircraft pilots are flying longer and further, ever expanding the endurance boundary. Designers are adding seats for passengers (or students) and even making the airplanes less expensive so more people can enjoy the wonder of electric flight. And trust us — it is a wonder. We’ve experienced it.

These pilots in the early 21st century are also following their early 20th century counterparts in wanting to fly faster and faster. Of course there is nowhere near the same risk for today’s pilots. Electric aviators are merely adapting a new power source to well-proven ideas and designs. But that makes it no less exciting to witness the beginning of a new era of flight, given that most of us weren’t here to see it the first time around.

Photos: Electravia

See Also:

• Exclusive: We Fly An Electric Airplane
• Electric Airplane Flies Over Paris
• Aerobatic Airplane Has Four Electric Engines
• An Electric Airplane With Room For Two
• Electric Airplane Soars … to Market?

Authors: Jason Paur

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