Viseu, Portugal, Sept. 11, 2024 (Lusa) - The world's first certified 100% electric aeroplane, a device that makes a "big difference" to the cost of operation, is being used for instruction in Viseu, in northern Portugal, the executive director of the International Flight Academy (IFA) said on Wednesday.
"The Pipistrel Velis Electro is the first certified aeroplane in the world. It's a 100% electric aeroplane, it only has electric propulsion, it has two batteries, each of 12.5 kilowatts (KW), in other words, 25 kw in total, it has an autonomy of 50 minutes," said José Madeira.
The executive director of the IFA, which has a hub in Viseu, said that this plane, which weighs around 500 kilos, "is perfectly suitable for the initial phases of instruction" and, in terms of behaviour and flight capacity, "behaves like a normal plane" that weighs 100 kilos more.
"We started our instruction process with a test phase and now we're using it and adapting our instruction programme to the specific characteristics of an electric plane," he added.
José Madeira compared the operating costs, such as maintenance, and all the associated costs of the new 100% electric aeroplane with an internal combustion engine, the ones used so far at the IFA: "It's around €150 per hour and this aeroplane in terms of operating costs, the electric one, also with the same associated production factors, is around €7, €8 per hour, so we're talking about completely different realities."
The executive director also explained that "it's clear that the electric plane can't perform the range of operations that the other aeroplanes can, but for this [instruction] phase it's perfectly suited".
"This is undoubtedly the future, in other words, we expect, and that's why we've invested heavily in the electric one, that there will be great innovation from the point of view of battery capacity, even the recycling of energy through the propeller. All these factors are being improved more and more and we believe that the future of instruction will very much involve the use of electric aviation," he said.
In addition to instruction, José Madeira considered that the "debate has to be much broader, because the amount of energy per weight of batteries is still far below what is used" in fossil fuels.
"Sustainable, green aviation will be made, from a commercial passenger transport point of view, much more through hydrogen produced through sustainable methods, namely solar power stations, than battery-powered electric aeroplanes," he said.
This first electric aeroplane, and the others that the IFA wants to acquire, will be based in Viseu, because it is an aerodrome that is "perfectly suited to the operation of this aeroplane, with little traffic, which is very suitable for this operation".
With a capacity for two people, the inaugural flight of the 100% electric aeroplane was commanded by senior instructor Inês Oliveira, who was accompanied by student Sara Bala.
Inês Oliveira told journalists that the flight "is very similar" to a fossil fuel aeroplane, the "only difference" that the instructor considered "more interesting" is that "it's a more ergonomic aeroplane and will make instruction easier" for the students.
"It will be simpler for them, in other words, it's a very good complement to the fleet," argued Inês Oliveira, who said that instruction will be given in both types of aircraft, and also highlighted the "greater silence" in flight, which "is better" for instruction.
The IFA has its headquarters in Cascais, where around 200 students are based, and a centre in Viseu, which has around 60 students of 11 nationalities from various continents. It has trained 40 pilots since 2019.
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