Airbus E-Fan
| E-Fan | |
|---|---|
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| Airbus E-Fan in flight at 2014 Berlin Air Show | |
| Role | Electric aircraft |
| Manufacturer | Airbus Group Innovations |
| Designer | Didier Esteyne |
| First flight | 11 March 2014 |
| Introduction | 2017 |
| Status | Under development |
| Number built | 1 |
The Airbus E-Fan is a prototype two-seater electric aircraft being developed by Airbus Group. It was flight demonstrated to the world press at the Farnborough Airshow in the UK in July 2014. The target market is pilot training.
Airbus Group is developing an electric aircraft with Aero Composites Saintonge. The aircraft uses on-board lithium batteries to power the two electric motors and can carry one pilot and one passenger. A test flight was conducted in April 2014 at Mérignac Airport, France, landing in front of a large audience, the French Minister of Industry Arnaud Montebourg being one of them. At the 2014 Farnborough Airshow, Airbus announced that the E-Fan 2.0 will go into production by 2017 with a side-by-side seating layout. Airbus has stated that there are plans for development of a commercial regional aircraft in the near future.
The E-Fan is an all-electric two-seat twin-motor low-wing monoplane of composite material structure. It has a T-tail and a retractable tandem landing gear with outrigger wheels. The two motors are mounted on either side of the rear fuselage.
Two production variants are planned, a two-seater E-Fan 2.0 for use as a trainer, and the E-Fan 4.0 four-seater. The E-Fan 4.0 appears identical to the E-Fan apart from a fuselage stretch. To increase flight duration the E-Fan 4.0 will have a hybrid-electric system that will have a small engine to charge the battery (like a range extender), which will increase its duration from 2 hours to 3.5 hours. First flight of the E-Fan 2.0 is planned for 2017 and the E-Fan 4.0 should follow in 2019.
The E-fan is of all-composite construction and is propelled by two ducted, variable-pitch fans spun by two electric motors totaling 60 kW of power. Ducting increases thrust while reducing noise, and having the fans mounted centrally provides better control. The motors moving the fans are powered by a series of 250-volt Lithium polymer battery packs made by South Korean company Kokam. The batteries are mounted in the inboard section of the wings. They have enough power for one hour and take one hour to recharge. An onboard backup battery is available to make an emergency landing if power runs out while airborne. The E-fan's landing gear consists of a retractable fore and aft wheel, and a fixed wheel under the wings. Unusually for an aircraft, the main wheel is powered by a 6 kW electric motor, which allows the plane to be taxied without the main motors, and is able to accelerate it to 60 km/h (37 mph; 32 kn) for takeoffs. Having the takeoff run performed by the undercarriage relieves some of the burden on the flight motors.
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