The Electric Aircraft Corporation ElectraFlyer-C is an American

experimental An experiment is a procedure carried out to support or refute a hypothesis, or determine the efficacy or likelihood of something previously untried. Experiments provide insight into cause-and-effect by demonstrating what outcome occurs when ...

electric aircraft An electric aircraft is an aircraft powered by electricity. Electric aircraft are seen as a way to reduce the environmental effects of aviation, providing zero emissions and quieter flights. Electricity may be supplied by a variety of methods, ...

that was designed by Randall Fishman and produced by his company

Electric Aircraft Corporation Electric Aircraft Corporation is an American aircraft manufacturer that was founded by Randall Fishman, a retired New Jersey jeweler. The company is based in Cliffside Park, New Jersey and specializes in the design and manufacture of electric a ...

in 2008. The aircraft is a converted

Monnett Moni __NOTOC__ The Monnett Moni is a sport aircraft developed in the United States in the early 1980s and marketed for homebuilding. Designed by John Monnett, who coined the term "air recreation vehicle" to describe it, it is a single-seat motorglid ...

motor glider A motor glider is a fixed-wing aircraft that can be flown with or without engine power. The FAI Gliding Commission Sporting Code definition is: a fixed-wing aerodyne equipped with a means of propulsion (MoP), capable of sustained soaring flight ...

intended to test electric propulsion technology for the future

Electric Aircraft Corporation ElectraFlyer-X The Electric Aircraft Corporation ElectraFlyer-X is an American kit and light-sport electric aircraft, designed by Randall Fishman and at one time under development by his company Electric Aircraft Corporation of Cliffside Park, New Jersey. T ...

.Bayerl, Robby; Martin Berkemeier; et al: ''World Directory of Leisure Aviation 2011-12'', page 45. WDLA UK, Lancaster UK, 2011. ISSN 1368-485XTacke, Willi; Marino Boric; et al: ''World Directory of Light Aviation 2015-16'', page 46. Flying Pages Europe SARL, 2015. The design was only intended as a

prototype A prototype is an early sample, model, or release of a product built to test a concept or process. It is a term used in a variety of contexts, including semantics, design, electronics, and Software prototyping, software programming. A prototyp ...

and

proof of concept Proof of concept (POC or PoC), also known as proof of principle, is a realization of a certain method or idea in order to demonstrate its feasibility, or a demonstration in principle with the aim of verifying that some concept or theory has prac ...

aircraft.

Design and development

The aircraft features a cantilever

low-wing A monoplane is a fixed-wing aircraft configuration with a single mainplane, in contrast to a biplane or other types of multiplanes, which have multiple planes. A monoplane has inherently the highest efficiency and lowest drag of any wing confi ...

, a single-seat enclosed cockpit with a bubble canopy, fixed

conventional landing gear Conventional landing gear, or tailwheel-type landing gear, is an aircraft undercarriage consisting of two main wheels forward of the center of gravity and a small wheel or skid to support the tail.Crane, Dale: ''Dictionary of Aeronautical Term ...

and a single electric motor in

tractor configuration In aviation, the term tractor configuration refers to an aircraft constructed in the standard configuration with its engine mounted with the propeller in front of it so that the aircraft is "pulled" through the air. Oppositely, the pusher c ...

. The sole example built is registered in the US Experimental - Amateur-built category. Constructed from a Monnett Moni

motorglider A motor glider is a fixed-wing aircraft that can be flown with or without engine power. The FAI Gliding Commission Sporting Code definition is: a fixed-wing aerodyne equipped with a means of propulsion (MoP), capable of sustained soaring flight ...

with

taildragger Conventional landing gear, or tailwheel-type landing gear, is an aircraft undercarriage consisting of two main wheels forward of the center of gravity and a small wheel or skid to support the tail.Crane, Dale: ''Dictionary of Aeronautical Term ...

landing gear, the original fuselage and wing were retained, but the tail section and

tailwheel Conventional landing gear, or tailwheel-type landing gear, is an aircraft undercarriage consisting of two main wheels forward of the center of gravity and a small wheel or skid to support the tail.Crane, Dale: ''Dictionary of Aeronautical Terms ...

were extended to improve control on the ground, and to elevate the fuselage.Laboda, Amy
"ElectraFlyer-C Concept Airplane Flying,"
August 1, 2008, '' Kitplanes'' retrieved August 22, 2020 The aircraft is made from sheet

aluminum Aluminium (aluminum in American and Canadian English) is a chemical element with the symbol Al and atomic number 13. Aluminium has a density lower than those of other common metals, at approximately one third that of steel. It has ...

. Its span wing has an area of . The motor is an 18-horsepower ElectraFlyer direct-drive propulsion kit DC

electric motor An electric motor is an Electric machine, electrical machine that converts electrical energy into mechanical energy. Most electric motors operate through the interaction between the motor's magnetic field and electric current in a Electromagneti ...

, powered by a pair of custom-made 5.6 kwh

lithium-ion polymer battery A lithium polymer battery, or more correctly lithium-ion polymer battery (abbreviated as LiPo, LIP, Li-poly, lithium-poly and others), is a rechargeable battery of lithium-ion technology using a polymer electrolyte instead of a liquid electroly ...

packs, weighing 75 pounds (34 kilograms). The batteries are mounted in custom-made, ceramic-stainless steel firewall boxes, sized to fit the space available in the

fuselage The fuselage (; from the French ''fuselé'' "spindle-shaped") is an aircraft's main body section. It holds crew, passengers, or cargo. In single-engine aircraft, it will usually contain an engine as well, although in some amphibious aircraft t ...

. The motor returns an 88% efficiency (90% at cruise), with the motor controller consuming 2% of the power. The batteries fitted give an endurance of 1.5 hours and take six hours to recharge at a cost of 70 cents for the power consumed. While descending the propeller generates power to recharge the batteries. The ElectraFlyer-C received its airworthiness certificate on 11 April 2008. Fishman indicated that he would sell the aircraft in April 2009, but as of February 2017 it remains owned by his company.

Specifications (ElectraFlyer-C)

References

External links

* {{Electric Aircraft Corporation aircraft Homebuilt aircraft United States experimental aircraft Single-engined tractor aircraft Electric aircraft C