Thu, Sep 15, 2022
Alps and Amps
Elektra Solar GmbH, the German designer and manufacturer of solar-electric powered aircraft, has won the prestigious eTrophy at the Eletcrifly-In competition in Bern, Switzerland. Elektra’s entry—the company’s brand new two-seater UL Elektra Trainer aircraft—beat out concepts from rival manufacturers Pipistrel and X-eye.
The eTrophy is awarded to the electric aircraft that travels the longest, un-recharged distance to the competition. Elektra’s test pilot, engineer, and sales manager Uwe Nortmann departed the Baden-Württemberg airfield, a grass airstrip in the southern German town of Pfullendorf, on 10 September and proceeded along a southwesterly course to Bern, covering 174-kilometers (108-miles) in a contest-winning two hours and ten minutes. Herr Nortmann’s journey, though neither particularly lengthy nor swift, is nonetheless impressive insomuch as it was conducted in overcast, rainy conditions against a sustained 13-knot headwind. Analysis of the flight data showed the Elektra Trainer consumed 10kWh per every one-hundred kilometers flown—about half the energy consumption of an electric car.
Designed with an eye toward flight-schools and flying clubs, the Elektra Trainer’s hourly operating cost of about sixty-euros is half that of a legacy ultralight aircraft. Elektra posits the skyrocketing price of conventional aviation fuels—driven by short-sighted, economically devastating European Union Green policies—will further increase the Elektra Trainer’s cost advantage over its internal-combustion-powered competitors.
In addition to a 2.5-hour flight duration, a dual-redundant electric powertrain, variable-pitch propeller, retractable landing gear, and a 25:1 glide-ratio, the Elektra Trainer features perpetual uplink to Elektra Solar GmbH’s cloud infrastructure—by which system state flight data is uploaded and automatically analyzed with the help of AI-algorithms. Errors and deviations from baseline normal condition are reported to the aircraft’s owner and/or a maintenance provider, thereby increasing safety of flight and streamlining both repairs and scheduled maintenance.
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