World Speed Record Set by 100% Electric Airplane

World Speed Record Set by 100% Electric Airplane

On Wednesday, June 10, a NASA astronaut from Italy, Maurizio Cheli, set a world record for piloting the fully electric SkySpark. The flight lasted for eight-minute at the World Air Games 2009 in Turin, Italy. Maurizio Cheli hit a top speed of 155 mph (250 km/h). That’s a record speed for a 100-percent electrically powered aircraft.

               This hydrogen fueled aircraft is equipped with a liquid-cooled Valentino synchronous motor by Sicme Motori. The project had been underway since September of 2007. Nonetheless SkySpark simply considers it an intermediate goal for the plane. They think that the aircraft can achieve the speed of 186 mph (300 km/h). While the development of hydrogen aircrafts are still in its nascent phase and this speed is barely significant when compared to some conventional planes, the future might still be bright. The SkySpark team is hopeful of improving the plane’s performance. Using a “hydrogen fuel cells powered engine,” they plan to increase the planes range as well as speed.

             Sky Spark, set a new milestone in the field of greener aviation which took the sky for the first time on June 10. SkySpark is the 100% electricity-powered airplane. When it touched the speed of 250 km/h it was considered a world record. The airplane is particularly built upon Pioneer Alpi 300. SkySpark is powered by a 75KW brushless electric motor fueled by a range of lithium-polymer batteries. The team that developed the SkySpark is aiming for better range and more speed using engine technology that runs on hydrogen fuel cells. The project is jointly taken by DigiSky and Turin Polytechnic University. DigiSky is an Italian engineering company specializing in aeronautical applications.