Air travel has always been criticized as the most polluting form of transport. However, with people getting used to the reduced duration of travel, the eco-credentials of aircrafts have to be improved for a cleaner future. To make air travel green and emission free in the near future, companies over the globe are working on electric airplanes, with PC Aero’s Electra One and Yuneec E430 being just two of them.
Why the comparison?
Both aircrafts i.e. PC Aero’s Elektra One and Yuneec E430 are powered solely by electricity, look similar and can be used as private planes, as they offer seats only for 1 to 4 passengers. Both of them are quite similar in technical specifications but have different performance specifications.
PC Aero’s Elektra One
a) The green side
The Elektra One, from German aircraft engineering and designing company PC-Aero is built with modern technologies including electric motors and batteries. This single-seat ultralight plane has a composite airframe and a 16-kilowatt motor with a range of 400 kilometers and a max flight time of three hours, with a 100 mph top speed. Elektra One is an easy to fly plane that can remain airborne for 3 hours on a single charge, which thereafter must return to its specially devised solar hangar, designed by SolarWorld of Bonn, Germany that can recharge the aircraft using an array of rooftop-mounted solar panels. It is built with lightweight fiber composite structures and is powered by a high-efficiency, brushless 21 horsepower electric motor, controller and lightweight battery pack. It consumes 17 kWh of the batteries’ energy and has a maximum range of about 250 miles. Therefore, the electric powered aircraft is emission free and comes with reduced operational costs. A more advanced two-seat Elektra Two and a four-seat Elektra Four are expected to be produced sometime in the next few years as part of the E-Plane family.
b) The dark side
Its main disadvantage of the aircraft is the lack of speed and operating range.
Yuneec E430 electric aircrafts:
a) The green side
The Yuneec E430 is a two-seat, LSA class electric aircraft designed for commercial production. The two-place high-wing composite aircraft is powered by a 40 kilowatt electric motor driven by a “three-pack” of lithium polymer batteries, all designed and manufactured by Yuneec. The aircraft’s battery pack gives two to two and half hours endurance. The batteries can be recharged in 3-4 hours from a 220v outlet. The E430 is designed with simplicity as its main advantage being low maintenance, simple to fly and with the experience of flight significantly enhanced by the low noise and lack of vibration. On top of that, it is a zero-emission aircraft and the all-up cost will be $89,000 when it goes on sale. Its take-off speed is 40 mph, cruise speed is 56 mph with a maximum speed of 93 mph. The E430 has a range of 140 miles.
b) The dark side
The low range of the aircraft turns to be its main disadvantage. By addition of solar panels the developers can increase the range of this zero-emission aircraft.
The Final Verdict
Both the aircrafts let consumers enjoy a zero-emission commute, which can be made better if the aircrafts feature better range and speed. However, while the Elektra One offers more speed and longer flight duration, the Yuneec E430 is for those who need a companion.
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