Imagine stepping out of your office and onto the street. Your taxi has arrived, ordered a few minutes earlier through an app on your smartphone. Your taxi is all electric and can travel up to 186 miles on a single charge. You get in, shut the door and fly away? While this may seem like a scenario from the distant future, the small German startup Lillium is pushing for this to … [Read more...] about Electric Air Taxis may be a Reality Sooner than Expected thanks to German Startup Lillium
Aviation
Flying Taxi Firm Kitty Hawk Gets a Partner: Boeing
The topic of (so-called) flying cars and electric, drone-like ride sharing platforms keeps coming up in conversations about the future of travel, regardless of whether or not that topic makes any sense. The latest one of these to attract media attention is Kitty Hawk, whose Cora air taxi division is developing a VTOL-capable, all-electric air taxi for the near future. They've … [Read more...] about Flying Taxi Firm Kitty Hawk Gets a Partner: Boeing
Harbour Air Set to Become First All-electric Airline
Harbour Air recently announced plans to convert its fleet of over 30 seaplanes to electric power with help from motor builder, MagniX. Each of the fleet's current ICE engines will be replaced with a Magni500 electric motor packing an astonishing 750 (seven-hundred and fifty) HP! "Harbour Air first demonstrated its commitment to sustainability by becoming the first fully … [Read more...] about Harbour Air Set to Become First All-electric Airline
HondaJet Elite is the Most Delivered Aircraft in its Class
Nothing says "luxury" like a private jet; nothing says "reliability" like a Honda -- that's why the aptly named HondaJet Elite is a work of ground-breaking innovation. Its light weight allows it to simultaneously manage to be the most fuel efficient and fastest jet in its class. It's also, arguably, the overall best jet in its class, managing to be as comfortable, luxurious, … [Read more...] about HondaJet Elite is the Most Delivered Aircraft in its Class
EasyJet Says Electric Airplane Service Could Begin Within A Decade
Airplanes emit large amounts of carbon dioxide and they put it high into the atmosphere where it can't be absorbed easily by the world's forests and oceans. Globally, airplanes contribute significantly to the total emissions created by the transportation sector. An electric airplane would keep all those emissions out of the skies but the technology isn't quite there yet except … [Read more...] about EasyJet Says Electric Airplane Service Could Begin Within A Decade
Martine Rothblatt Creates First Full Size Electric Helicopter
Martine Rothblatt is not your typical person. She is the founder of Sirius satellite radio and vehicle navigation company GeoStar. When her daughter was diagnosed with a rare life-threatening form of pulmonary hypertension, Rothblatt formed United Therapeutics to market medication for others suffering from the same disease. Because pulmonary hypertension often requires a lung t … [Read more...] about Martine Rothblatt Creates First Full Size Electric Helicopter
Electric Airplanes Getting Closer To Reality
Electric airplanes are closer to reality today, thanks to DARPA and some intrepid dreamers. DARPA is the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. It was established in 1958 after the US was shocked to find that the dastardly Russians had actually placed a satellite in orbit before we did. Through the years, it has experimented with all sorts of goofy devices that were s … [Read more...] about Electric Airplanes Getting Closer To Reality
Electric Plane Controversy — If Jerry Springer Had An Electric Plane Show
Okay, it may not be that wild, but there's been a bit of controversy in the world of electric aviation as of late. A French pilot, Didier Esteyne, believed he set a record for being the first pilot to fly in a battery-powered plan across the English Channel -- hopping from one shore to another (or one runway to another, as it may be) with all of the energy coming from ba … [Read more...] about Electric Plane Controversy — If Jerry Springer Had An Electric Plane Show
Solar Impulse EV Airplane Aiming For New York-To-California Flight In 2013
Do solar electric vehicles have a future...in the sky? Some innovative aero-engineers seem to think so, and they aim to prove the viability of their concept by flying across the U.S. from New York to California using nothing but the sun for power. The Switzerland-based Solar Impulse team is aiming for make a sun-powered flight across the continental U.S. sometime in the next … [Read more...] about Solar Impulse EV Airplane Aiming For New York-To-California Flight In 2013
Solar Powered Plane to Fly the World In 2014
Some analysts have said that we are about to enter a golden age of solar technology, as the cost of solar electricity and installations becomes increasingly competitive with established fuel sources. But will we ever use solar power to fly? A team comprised of engineers and adventurers wants to build the first plane to circumnavigate the world solely on solar power. Bring … [Read more...] about Solar Powered Plane to Fly the World In 2014