Spirit Of Innovation Begins Flight Testing Phase

Rolls-Royce’s first all-electric aircraft, the “Spirit of Innovation”, has completed its maiden flight, which took place in the UK for about 15 minutes.

The beginning of the flight testing phase includes a collection of performance data on its electrical power and propulsion system. In time, the goal of the aircraft speed is to exceed 300 miles per hour. The current speed record stands at 210 miles per hour.

50% of funding has come from the Aerospace Technology Institute in partnership with the U.K. government’s Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy and Innovate U.K.

U.K. Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng said the aircraft’s flight was “a huge step forward in the global transition to cleaner forms of flight.”

Looking ahead, Rolls-Royce — not to be confused with Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, owned by BMW —said it would use and apply tech from ACCEL in products connected to the commuter aircraft and electric vertical takeoff and landing markets.

Partnered with Tecnam, Rolls-Royce also works with Wideroe, a Norway-headquartered airline on the delivery of “an all-electric passenger aircraft for the commuter market.”

“The first flight of the ‘Spirit of Innovation’ is a great achievement for the ACCEL team and Rolls-Royce. We are focused on producing the technology breakthroughs society needs to decarbonise transport across air, land and sea, and capture the economic opportunity of the transition to net zero,” said Warren East, CEO, Rolls-Royce. “This is not only about breaking a world record; the advanced battery and propulsion technology developed for this programme has exciting applications for the Urban Air Mobility market and can help make ‘jet zero’ a reality.”

FMI: https://www.rolls-royce.com/innovation/accel.aspx