Electrics in the air

Could this 18-motor wing be the future of electric aircraft?

It might look like it was designed by a six-year-old, with 18 motors crammed onto a too-thin wing, but the Hybrid-Electric Integrated Systems Testbed (HEIST) experimental wing demonstrator could be the future of electric aircraft. A key component of NASA'S Leading Edge Asynchronous Propeller Technology (LEAPTech) project, it is designed to test whether electric propulsion can allow for a tighter wing design leading to greater efficiency and safety.

Beginning in 2014, the LEAPTech project is a joint venture of NASA Langley Research, Empirical Systems Aerospace (ESAero), and Joby Aviation. ESAero is the prime contractor for HEIST, which will be tested over the coming months. A 31-ft (9.4-m) composite wing section with 18 electric motors powered by lithium iron phosphate batteries installed on it will be mounted on a truck that will race at speeds of up to 70 mph (113 km/h) across a dry lakebed at Edwards Air Force Base, California.