“Two years ago the thought of flying 200 miles at 100 mph in an electric aircraft was pure science fiction,” said Jack W. Langelaan, team leader of Team Pipistrel-USA.com in a press release. “Now, we are all looking forward to the future of electric aviation.”
This competition was the culmination of over two years worth of aircraft design, development and testing for Pipistrel-USA.com and eGenius. Pipistrel-USA.com is a small team of aircraft industry professionals with diverse experience dedicated to light aircraft and glider flying which designs, builds, sells and maintains aircraft.
This competition was the first time that full-scale electric aircraft have performed in a competition and the results go a long way towards showing that the future of aviation may in fact be in electric aircraft. The prize is also the largest in aviation history, according to NASA, once again demonstrating the importance NASA is putting on fuel efficient aviation.
“NASA congratulates Pipistrel-USA.com for proving that ultra-efficient aviation is within our grasp,” said Joe Parrish, NASA’s acting chief technologist at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “We’ve shown that electric aircraft have moved beyond science fiction and are now in the realm of practice.”
SOURCES: PR Newswire, International Business Times, Pipistrel-USA.com,
PHOTO SOURCE: NASA/Bill Ingalis
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