The Electric Aircraft Corporation ElectraFlyer-C is an American

experimental An experiment is a procedure carried out to support or refute a hypothesis, or determine the efficacy or likelihood of something previously untried. Experiments provide insight into cause-and-effect by demonstrating what outcome occurs whe ...

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 designed by Randall Fishman and produced by his company

Electric Aircraft Corporation Electric Aircraft Corporation is an American aircraft manufacturer that was founded by Randall Fishman, a retired New Jersey jeweler. The company is based in Cliffside Park, New Jersey and specializes in the design and manufacture of electric a ...

in 2008. The aircraft is a converted

Monnett Moni __NOTOC__ The Monnett Moni is a sport aircraft developed in the United States in the early 1980s and marketed for homebuilding. Designed by John Monnett, who coined the term "air recreation vehicle" to describe it, it is a single-seat motorglid ...

motor glider A motor glider is a fixed-wing aircraft that can be flown with or without engine power. The FAI Gliding Commission Sporting Code definition is: a fixed-wing aerodyne equipped with a means of propulsion (MoP), capable of sustained soaring flig ...

intended to test electric propulsion technology for the future Electric Aircraft Corporation ElectraFlyer-X.Bayerl, Robby; Martin Berkemeier; et al: ''World Directory of Leisure Aviation 2011-12'', page 45. WDLA UK, Lancaster UK, 2011. ISSN 1368-485XTacke, Willi; Marino Boric; et al: ''World Directory of Light Aviation 2015-16'', page 46. Flying Pages Europe SARL, 2015. The design was only intended as a

prototype A prototype is an early sample, model, or release of a product built to test a concept or process. It is a term used in a variety of contexts, including semantics, design, electronics, and Software prototyping, software programming. A prototype ...

and

proof of concept A proof of concept (POC or PoC), also known as proof of principle, is an inchoate realization of a certain idea or method in order to demonstrate its feasibility or viability. A proof of concept is usually small and may or may not be complete ...

aircraft.

Design and development

The aircraft features a cantilever

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 ...

, a single-seat enclosed cockpit with a bubble canopy, fixed

conventional landing gear Conventional landing gear, or tailwheel-type landing gear, is an aircraft Landing gear, undercarriage consisting of two main wheels forward of the Center of gravity of an aircraft, center of gravity and a small wheel or skid to support the tail ...

and a single electric motor in

tractor configuration In aviation, a tractor configuration is a propeller-driven fixed-wing aircraft with its engine mounted with the propeller in front, so that the aircraft is "pulled" through the air. This is the usual configuration; the pusher configuration ...

. The sole example built is registered in the US Experimental - Amateur-built category. Constructed from a Monnett Moni

motorglider A motor glider is a fixed-wing aircraft that can be flown with or without engine power. The FAI Gliding Commission Sporting Code definition is: a fixed-wing Aircraft#Heavier-than-air – aerodynes, aerodyne equipped with a means of propulsion (M ...

with

taildragger Conventional landing gear, or tailwheel-type landing gear, is an aircraft undercarriage consisting of two main wheels forward of the center of gravity and a small wheel or skid to support the tail.Crane, Dale: ''Dictionary of Aeronautical Term ...

landing gear, the original fuselage and wing were retained, but the tail section and

tailwheel Conventional landing gear, or tailwheel-type landing gear, is an aircraft undercarriage consisting of two main wheels forward of the center of gravity and a small wheel or skid to support the tail.Crane, Dale: ''Dictionary of Aeronautical Term ...

were extended to improve control on the ground, and to elevate the fuselage.Laboda, Amy
"ElectraFlyer-C Concept Airplane Flying,"
August 1, 2008, '' Kitplanes'' retrieved August 22, 2020 The aircraft is made from sheet

aluminum Aluminium (or aluminum in North American English) is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol Al and atomic number 13. It has a density lower than that of other common metals, about one-third that of steel. Aluminium has ...

. Its span wing has an area of . The motor is an 18-horsepower ElectraFlyer direct-drive propulsion kit DC

electric motor An electric motor is a machine that converts electrical energy into mechanical energy. Most electric motors operate through the interaction between the motor's magnetic field and electric current in a electromagnetic coil, wire winding to gene ...

, powered by a pair of custom-made 5.6 kwh

lithium-ion 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 differe ...

packs, weighing 75 pounds (34 kilograms). The batteries are mounted in custom-made, ceramic-stainless steel firewall boxes, sized to fit the space available in the

fuselage The fuselage (; from the French language, French ''fuselé'' "spindle-shaped") is an aircraft's main body section. It holds Aircrew, crew, passengers, or cargo. In single-engine aircraft, it will usually contain an Aircraft engine, engine as wel ...

. The motor returns an 88% efficiency (90% at cruise), with the motor controller consuming 2% of the power. The batteries fitted give an endurance of 1.5 hours and take six hours to recharge at a cost of 70 cents for the power consumed. While descending the propeller generates power to recharge the batteries. The ElectraFlyer-C received its airworthiness certificate on 11 April 2008. Fishman indicated that he would sell the aircraft in April 2009, but as of February 2017 it remains owned by his company.

Specifications (ElectraFlyer-C)

References

External links

* {{Electric Aircraft Corporation aircraft Homebuilt aircraft 2000s United States experimental aircraft Single-engined tractor aircraft Electric aircraft C