The Airbus E-Fan is a prototype two-seater

electric aircraft An electric aircraft is an aircraft powered by electricity. Electric aircraft are seen as a way to reduce the environmental effects of aviation, providing zero emissions and quieter flights. Electricity may be supplied by a variety of methods, ...

that was under development by

Airbus Airbus SE ( ; ; ; ) is a Pan-European aerospace corporation. The company's primary business is the design and manufacturing of commercial aircraft but it also has separate Airbus Defence and Space, defence and space and Airbus Helicopters, he ...

. It was flown in front of the world press at the

Farnborough Airshow The Farnborough International Airshow is a trade exhibition for the aerospace and defence industries, where civilian and military aircraft are demonstrated to potential customers and investors in Farnborough, Hampshire. Since its first show in ...

in the United Kingdom in July 2014. The target market was intended to be

pilot training Flight training is a course of study used when learning to pilot an aircraft. The overall purpose of primary and intermediate flight training is the acquisition and honing of basic airmanship skills. Flight training can be conducted under a str ...

, but production of the aircraft was cancelled in April 2017.

Design and development

Airbus Group developed this electric aircraft with Aero Composites Saintonge. The aircraft uses on-board

lithium-ion batteries A lithium-ion or Li-ion battery is a type of rechargeable battery that uses the reversible intercalation of Li+ ions into electronically conducting solids to store energy. Li-ion batteries are characterized by higher specific energy, energy ...

to power the two electric motors and can carry one pilot and one passenger. A test flight was conducted in April 2014 at

Bordeaux–Mérignac Airport Bordeaux–Mérignac Airport () is an international airport of Bordeaux, in southwestern France. It is situated in the Communes of France, ''commune'' of Mérignac, Gironde, Mérignac, west of Bordeaux, within the ''Departments of France, dé ...

, France, landing in front of a large audience, the French Minister of Industry

Arnaud Montebourg Arnaud Montebourg (; born 30 October 1962) is a French politician, lawyer and entrepreneur who served as Minister of Industrial Renewal from 2012 to 2014,regional aircraft A regional airliner, commuter airliner or feeder liner is a small airliner that is designed to fly up to 100 passengers on short-haul flights, usually feeding larger carriers' airline hubs from small markets. This class of airliners is typically ...

in the near future. The E-Fan is an all-electric two-seat twin-motor

low-wing A monoplane is a fixed-wing aircraft configuration with a single mainplane, in contrast to a biplane or other types of multiplanes, which have multiple wings. A monoplane has inherently the highest efficiency and lowest drag of any wing config ...

monoplane A monoplane is a fixed-wing aircraft configuration with a single mainplane, in contrast to a biplane or other types of multiplanes, which have multiple wings. A monoplane has inherently the highest efficiency and lowest drag of any wing con ...

composite material A composite or composite material (also composition material) is a material which is produced from two or more constituent materials. These constituent materials have notably dissimilar chemical or physical properties and are merged to create a ...

structure. It has a

T-tail A T-tail is an empennage wikt:configuration, configuration in which the tailplane of an aircraft is mounted to the top of the vertical stabilizer, fin. The arrangement looks like the capital letter T, hence the name. The T-tail differs fr ...

and a retractable tandem landing gear with outrigger wheels. The two motors are mounted on either side of the rear fuselage. Two production variants were initially planned, a two-seater E-Fan 2.0 for use as a trainer, and the E-Fan 4.0 four-seat touring aircraft. The E-Fan 4.0 appears identical to the E-Fan apart from a fuselage stretch. To increase flight duration the planned E-Fan 4.0 would have had a hybrid-electric system that will have a small engine to charge the battery (like a

range extender A range extender is a fuel-based auxiliary power unit (APU) that extends the range of a battery electric vehicle by driving an electric generator that charges the vehicle's battery. This arrangement is known as a series hybrid drivetrain. The ...

), which would have increased its duration from 2 hours to 3.5 hours. The first flight of the E-Fan 2.0 was originally planned for 2017 and the E-Fan 4.0 for 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 A lithium polymer battery, or more correctly, lithium-ion polymer battery (abbreviated as LiPo, LIP, Li-poly, lithium-poly, and others), is a rechargeable battery derived from lithium-ion and lithium-metal battery technology. The primary differ ...

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 Landing gear is the undercarriage of an aircraft or spacecraft that is used for taxiing, takeoff or landing. For aircraft, it is generally needed for all three of these. It was also formerly called ''alighting gear'' by some manufacturers, s ...

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 for takeoffs. Having the takeoff run performed by the undercarriage relieves some of the burden on the flight motors. E FAN Airbus DS 20140524 1237

In December 2014 Airbus announced that DAHER-SOCATA would complete the design work on the aircraft and

certify Certification is part of testing, inspection and certification and the provision by an independent body of written assurance (a certificate) that the product, service or system in question meets specific requirements. It is the formal attestatio ...

it. VoltAir, an Airbus subsidiary, developed the initial prototype and worked with Daher-Socata during the testing phase as the project manager. At this point the aircraft became the VoltAir E-Fan. On 30 April 2015 the company announced that the aircraft would be produced at

Pau Pyrénées Airport Pau Pyrénées Airport () is an airport serving Pau, France. It is located northwest of Pau in Uzein, a '' commune'' of the ''département'' of Pyrénées-Atlantiques (named for the Pyrénées mountains and the Atlantic Ocean). Airlines and ...

, south-west France, at a new facility, that would be near the DAHER-SOCATA plant at

Tarbes Tarbes (; Gascon language, Gascon: ''Tarba'') is a Communes of France, commune in the Hautes-Pyrénées Departments of France, department in the Occitania (administrative region), Occitanie Regions of France, region of southwestern France. It is ...

. First deliveries were at that time expected at the end of 2017 or early 2018. In April 2017 Airbus cancelled production of the E-Fan, preferring to concentrate on a proposed hybrid-electric, regional jet-sized aircraft, with an initial service date of 2030.

Operational history

On 9 July 2015, the E-Fan crossed the

English Channel The English Channel, also known as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates Southern England from northern France. It links to the southern part of the North Sea by the Strait of Dover at its northeastern end. It is the busi ...

from

Lydd Airport London Ashford Airport is east of the town of Lydd and south of Ashford, Kent, Ashford in the district of Folkestone and Hythe (District), Folkestone and Hythe, in Kent, England. Originally named Lydd Ferryfield, it is now also known as Lon ...

to Calais–Dunkerque Airport. It was flown by Didier Esteyne, the chief engineer of the E-Fan. Initially this was claimed as the first electric aircraft to cross the

, but it has since been pointed out that there were previous such flights, including

MacCready Solar Challenger The Solar Challenger was a solar-powered aircraft designed by Paul MacCready's AeroVironment. The aircraft was designed as an improvement on the Gossamer Penguin, which in turn was a solar-powered variant of the human-powered Gossamer Albatros ...

as long ago as 1981, and Airbus now say it was the "first all-electric two-engine aircraft" to make the crossing.

Siemens Siemens AG ( ) is a German multinational technology conglomerate. It is focused on industrial automation, building automation, rail transport and health technology. Siemens is the largest engineering company in Europe, and holds the positi ...

has sponsored electric equipment on the E-fan, but not motors.

Variants

;E-Fan :Two-seat concept aircraft and technology demonstrator, first flown March 2014. ;E-Fan 2.0 :Proposed all-electric two-seat production variant, initially forecast to fly in 2017. ;E-Fan 4.0 :Proposed hybrid-electric four-seat variant, to fly 2019; a kerosene fuelled generator would have extended endurance from 2 h to 3 h 30 min. ;E-Thrust :Proposed 90-seat regional jet based on the principles of the E-Fan.

Specifications

References

External links