Rolls-Royce Electric Airplane Flies for the First Time | The Goal is to Beat 300 Mph

Urian B., Tech Times 28 September 2021, 12:09 am

Rolls-Royce electric airplane just flew for the first time and is now aiming to beat its goal of 300Mph. Just recently, the small electric airplane was able to lift off the ground for the very first time.

Rolls-Royce Electric Airplane

The flight was able to complete a brief, around 15-minute long flight, as seen on an official Rolls-Royce post. This particular 7-meter plane was called the "Spirit of Innovation" and was reportedly designed to become an electric speed demon.

Rolls-Royce, the company that manufactures these planes, plans to fly the electric machine faster than 300mph before the end of 2021. This is in order to smash a previous speed record for electric aircraft in the process if possible.

All-Electric Racing Plane

Matheu Parr, leading projects for Rolls-Royce, noted that it is a thoroughbred, all-electric type of racing plane. The aircraft has reportedly been able to flow three times and resembles an ordinary airplane on the outside. The plans of Rolls-Royce to achieve this 300 Mph goal had previously been announced after the flight.

According to the story by PopSci, in fact, it actually started as a kit, a Sharp Nemesis NXT, a certain type of small aircraft that is known for competing in the Reno Air Races in Nevada. Back in 2009, it was able to reach speeds of over 400 Mph, according to the report of AirRace.org.

More Space for Electric Aircrafts

Parr notes that it used to have quite a large international combustion engine located at the front. It also reportedly had a huge fuel tank that was sitting right behind it. It was noted that that stuff isn't really necessary in an electric aircraft thus the team then removed it.

It was noted that what remained was a huge volume of space located at the front of the aircraft. This reportedly gave more space for them to install new components. As of the moment, the guts of the airplane include a particular three-battery system that is reportedly made up of over 6,000 cylindrical cells.

Electric Motor Battery

Every battery powers one particular electric motor. With this being said, three batteries, as well as three electric motors, all work together in order to power up the propeller located in the front. This actually spins just a little bit slower compared to how it would if it was actually powered by a certain regular engine at around 2,200 RPM instead of the original 2,800.

Parr notes that it is actually possible due to them being able to produce more torque at notably lower RPMs along with the electric system. He noted that what they are able to do with an electric motor is to be able to generate torque at any chosen RPM. Tesla is also planning to apply airplane technology for additional space and better utilization.

It was noted that the propeller's blades would automatically adjust their angle against the air as needed in order to properly optimize the torque. These three batteries, along with three motors, represent three different independent systems.

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Written by Urian B.