Electric Aircraft Corp. demonstrated an electric-powered plane called the ElectraFlyer-C at an Experimental Aircraft Association show in Wisconsin this week.
A newsletter from the AirVenture conference reported that test pilot Joe Bennis flew the plane for three passes in front of the air show center in Oshkosh, Wisc. on Sunday, the last day of the show.
The plane is a converted Moni motor glider that was raised for more ground clearance and equipped with a larger, more efficient propeller, according to Electric Aircraft's Website.
It also has an 18-horsepower motor, which draws power from a custom-built lithium-polymer battery pack that produces 5.6 kilowatt-hours of energy and can be recharged in six hours using a 110-volt charger (or in two hours using a 220-volt charger), according to the newsletter.
But the experimental plane won't be making cross-country flights without recharging.
The newsletter reported that the ElectroFlyer-C concept has a flight duration of between one-and-a-half and two hours, a top speed of 90 mph and a cruising speed of 70 mph.
That puts the plane's maximum range at no more than 180 miles, which is less than half the distance from San Francisco to Los Angeles, for example, and is less than the 216 miles from New York City to Boston.
The ElectraFlyer-C has been undergoing systematic flight testing since June 4, according to the company's Website.
Electric Aircraft is developing several electric-powered aircraft, but it isn't selling the ElectraFlyer-C. Instead the company offers powertrain packages that include the motors and controllers needed to convert the craft, the newsletter reported. The propulsion kit - for hardy-hearted do-it-yourselfers - costs $4,200 (see price list here).
The company has also developed an ElectraFlyer Trike, a glider that is, in essence, a tricycle with wings (see this YouTube video). The complete Trike system costs $18,385.
Electric Aircraft, which has kept company details fairly stealthy, is taking orders - along with liability waivers - via mail or email (see the forms here).
The company didn't respond to a request for comment before press time.
Other companies are also developing flying trikes and other electric aircraft.
Slovenia-based Pipistrel in April told Greentech Media it had begun accepting orders for its glider, called the Taurus Electro, and planned to begin delivering them by the end of the year (see Will Electric Planes Take Off? and a YouTube video of the Electro in flight).