'World's first' hybrid aircraft take flight
Parallel hybrid-electric propulsion system uses 30 per
cent less fuel than conventional planes, researchers say
By Will Nichols
23 Dec 2014 More from this author 0 Comments hybrid aircraft
Hybrid cars and
trucks are now a common sight on UK streets, but researchers are now taking the
technology to greater heights than ever before.
A team from the
University of Cambridge claims to have successfully built and tested the first
aircraft powered by a parallel hybrid-electric propulsion system, where an
electric motor and petrol engine work together to drive the
propeller.
The scientists say the single-seater aircraft uses 30 per cent
less fuel than a similar plane with a petrol engine and that it can recharge its
batteries mid-flight - the first time this has been achieved.
During take-off
and climb, when maximum power is required, the engine and motor work together to
power the plane. But once the plane reaches cruising height, the electric motor
can be switched into generator mode to recharge the batteries - a set of 16
large lithium-polymer cells housed in special compartments in the wings - or
used in motor assist mode to minimise fuel consumption. The system uses
essentially the same principle as that at work in a hybrid car.
Dr Paul
Robertson of Cambridge's Department of Engineering, who led the project in
association with Boeing, said the advent of light-weight batteries has for the
first time allowed for the development of hybrid or even fully-electric
aircraft.
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