First flight in an electric aircraft!

Last week I had my first ever flight in a fully electric aircraft!

This aircraft is a Pipistrel Alpha Electro, ZK-EAL. This aircraft is registered to Electric Airline Ltd of a Lyttelton address. The previous week the aircraft had flown into Wellington, in what was the first flight of an electric aircraft across Cook Strait.

The aircraft itself essentially a re-engined Pipistrel Alpha, with the Rotax engine and fuel tank removed and an electric engine and a couple of battery packs [one in front of and one behind the cockpit] added. 

It was easy enough to fly - apparently, someone who is familiar with the Rotax-powered Pipistrel Alpha would only need one flight to introduce the new engine and power management - everything else is the same.

It was a neat aircraft to fly. We cruised around at between 65 and 75 knots - a bit slower than what I am used to, but fine for what we were doing. It is of course a very light aircraft [MCTOW of 549 kgs] and so moves around in the air a bit - no different to any other LSA [such as the Tomark SD4 Viper I was rated in a few years ago]. It was also quite comfortable to sit in.

As for noise, my goodness, it is a quiet machine. The prop made a bit of noise [as expected] and there was a bit of a whistle out of the airframe when I got it out of balance, but yes, it is very very quiet.

The panel is laid out quite nicely with a mixture of digital and analogue instruments. In the following photograph, the right-hand panel is all about batteries and power usage.

Pipistrel Alpha Electro, ZK-EAL, instrument panel

 

The one big downside is that endurance is very limited - to the extent that I doubt it is currently useful in flight training [I know there will be different views on this!]. That's not a big issue - it's still a good aircraft and endurance will improve. This is the future for general aviation! It would be interesting to see it operated at an uncontrolled aerodrome with a take-off, vacate the circuit, climb to 3000' AGL, and undertake 4-6 stalls [or 2-3 FLWOP exercises for that matter], then return to the aerodrome.

As an example, at the start of my flight, the batteries were fully charged, and at the end [around 0.6 hours], down to 30%, which is roughly 30 minutes reserve. To be clear, there's no way I was flying it as efficiently as it could have been, but it is a limitation - one which will undoubtedly go away as battery technology is improved.

Anyway, here are a few photos with comments as appropriate.

Pipistrel Alpha Electro, ZK-EAL, operated by Electric Airline

Pipistrel Alpha Electro, ZK-EAL, operated by Electric Airline

Pipistrel Alpha Electro, ZK-EAL, operated by Electric Airline

This next picture is the recharging display in the aircraft. Included are displays showing the charge state, amperages, voltages and temperatures. Like other displays, it is easy to read and provides just the required information.

Pipistrel Alpha Electro, ZK-EAL, operated by Electric Airline

The front battery compartment. As you can see, this would be fairly easily removable if required. Just to the right of the big orange plug is a display showing the charge state and battery condition.

Pipistrel Alpha Electro, ZK-EAL, operated by Electric Airline

Pipistrel Alpha Electro, ZK-EAL, operated by Electric Airline

Pipistrel Alpha Electro, ZK-EAL, operated by Electric Airline

The seats are quite comfortable, and the four-point harness is also comfortable. The stick position and throttle have a nice feel to them also.

Pipistrel Alpha Electro, ZK-EAL, operated by Electric Airline

Front left to right are the throttle, brake [there are no toe brakes, but you really don't need them] and the flap handle. The brake handle might take a little to get used to, but is fine. I thought that the flap handle was a bit awkward to operate, but again, I guess it'd get easier with a bit of practice.

The brakes are interesting. There are no toe brakes, just the single brake lever as shown below. That's no problem, because with an approach speed of around 50 knots it doesnb't need much runway. When  the throttle is pulled right back, there is no thrust being generated and it comes to a stop quickly. 

We only used the brakes twice during the flight - once at the holding point to stop us rolling backwards, and after the flight when I parked it up.

Pipistrel Alpha Electro, ZK-EAL, operated by Electric Airline

The electrical system is pretty simple. BAT EN followed by PWR EN switches on and the motor will run when the throttle is pushed forward. Simple!

Pipistrel Alpha Electro, ZK-EAL, operated by Electric Airline

Here is the ballistic parachute systems. This is located behind the right hand seat.

Pipistrel Alpha Electro, ZK-EAL, operated by Electric Airline

It is certainly a good looking machine!

Pipistrel Alpha Electro, ZK-EAL, operated by Electric Airline

Pipistrel Alpha Electro, ZK-EAL, operated by Electric Airline

Anyway, thanks to Electric Airline, and Andrew [the instructor] for the ride. Definitely a fun little machine and an indication of where things are headed.

Those of you keeping an eye on things will know that there are plans for 2-4 seat aircraft with 100 knot + speeds and around 3 hours endurance. I suspect that future is closer than we think. I can't wait [but I'll still fly the Nanchang!]!

* Correction: corrected the MCTOW figure