Rolls-Royce’s Spirit of Innovation aircraft has officially become the world’s fastest all-electric aircraft with the recent confirmation of two speed records.
The aircraft reached 555.9 km/h for three kilometers, as verified by the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI). The plane also completed a 15-kilometer run at an average speed of 532.1 km/h, breaking the previous record.
“Reaching the all-electric world speed record is a fantastic achievement for the ACCEL team and Rolls-Royce,” said Warren East, Rolls-Royce’s chief executive.
“I would like to thank our partners and especially aviation startup Electroflight for their collaboration in achieving this pioneering breakthrough. The advanced battery and propulsion technology developed for this program has exciting applications for the air mobility market,” he said.
The record runs were held by Rolls-Royce test pilot and director of flight operations Phill O’Dell and Electroflight pilot Steve Jones on November 16, 2021 at the Boscombe Experimental Aircraft Test Site. Down (United Kingdom).
A third record for the fastest time to climb to 3,000 meters, which the Spirit of Innovation would have achieved in 202 seconds, is awaiting verification.
Part of Rolls-Royce’s Accelerating the Electrification of Flight (ACCEL) project, the Spirit of Innovation is an electric version of the Nemesis NXT race plane, powered by a 400 kW electric power train.
.
I have over 8 years of experience in the news industry. I have worked for various news websites and have also written for a few news agencies. I mostly cover healthcare news, but I am also interested in other topics such as politics, business, and entertainment. In my free time, I enjoy writing fiction and spending time with my family and friends.
