Imagine a sky filled with clean, green, energy-efficient jetliners, powered by electric motors or turbine-electric hybrid engines. Electric storage, distribution, and power technologies are still in their infancy, but recent developments point the way toward this dream.
The experimental Solar Impulse 2 (SI2) demonstrated that a solar-powered, electric aircraft could circumnavigate the Earth – but the slow-flying, high-aspect-ratio wing, single-person vehicle is not a practical model for future air transport. However, the engineering that helped develop SI2 has applications for mainstream airliners.
Read how SI2 and other electrified airplane concepts are charting a course for the future.
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