@Airbus Group and the E-Fan – EU's Flightpath 2050 heralds All-Electric Aircraft as Fischer–Tropsch Process makes Kerosene Renewable

“This is a learning curve to get to the big ones in the future”

Airbus Group Chief Technical Officer Jean Botti commenting on the Twin-Engine E-Fan All-Electric Airplane

Airbus is going Electric with the Twin-Engine Airbus E-Fan All-Electric Airplane as stated in “Airbus Electric Aircraft takes to the skies”, published June 11, 2014 -- Updated 1135 GMT (1935 HKT) By Katie Pisa, CNN and “Airbus’s E-Fan Electric Plane Takes Flight”, published 16 May 2014 | 16:56 GMT By Katherine Tweed, Spectrum IEEE. You can read more about the Twin-Engine Airbus E-Fan All-Electric Airplane in their informative brochure!

The Twin-Engine Airbus E-Fan All-Electric Airplane is the result of five years of research by the Airbus Group and is slated to make an appearance at the LA Berlin and Farnborough airshows later in 2014 as stated in “Electric E-Fan Aircraft Demonstrates Airborne E-Mobility”, published  25 April 2014, Airbus Group.

It's based on the Twin Engine Colomban Cri-Cri Airplane (Cri-cri meaning cricket and is an onomatopoeia of the sound that the Cricket makes!), a twin–engine Propeller driven Airplane that was developed back in the 1970s as a trainer for Pilots flying Private Jet Aircraft.

Since its official debut in April 2014, the Aircraft has gained popularity among Jet Aircraft Trainers due to the low cost of Operation. The spec of the Twin-Engine Airbus E-Fan All-Electric Airplane leaves room for developement for Commercial use in 2017.

The Main focus of their Research Center in Munich, Germany is developing better Li-Ion Batteries, to quote Airbus Group Chief Technical Officer Jean Botti:  “We cannot afford to stay with the state of batteries today. We need to go much higher in terms of efficiency”.

Airbus Group and the E-Fan – Kickstart with Training Schools, Commercial Flights in the Pipeline

Plans are already afoot to use it at Airbus Group's Training School in Bordeaux, France to train Jet Aircraft Pilots by 2017. This as the benefits are easily realized by any Training School makes the Twin-Engine Airbus E-Fan All-Electric Airplane very attractive as a training Aircraft:

1.      Small compact design Twin-Engine in History

2.      Reduces noise

3.      Zero Carbon Dioxide (CO_2(g)) emissions

4.      US$0.02 cents per hour to train Jet Engine Pilots

For those glossing over these specs, that’s a cost reduction of 50% to 60% over training with conventional Twin-Engine Aircraft!

It's basically a Hybrid Electric motor glider. It's powered by two (2) Li-Polymer Batteries made by KOKAM, a leading advanced battery maker with a combined voltage of 250 V that put out 60 kW of power to its two Twin Turbo Fan engines.

This is really a Propeller Aircraft, but instead of the Propellers being at the front, they're paired and placed at the back of the Twin-Engine Airbus E-Fan All-Electric Airplane. The two (2) Li-Polymer Batteries drive motors that turn a pair of variable pitch fans that are basically propellers inside of Jet Engine looking fuselage.

This gives better control, much in the same way a rear-wheel stick shift vehicle on the ground is more versatile, making it more maneuverable and able to stay aloft for approximately 45 minutes, with Airbus Group aiming for a total flight time of 75 minutes in the future. Its design also mimics a typical Private LearJet, making it an easy choice to be used as a Trainer for Pilots to fly Jet Aircraft.

Although it’s clearly a All-Electric Glider, I hope that “Hybrid” here means that it runs on Batteries in flight but can switch back to being a regular Jet Engine should the Batteries run out. Even better if its configured in a Range Extender configuration that allows you to fly on Batteries while Kerosene on Board the Aircraft powers a mini Generators that recharges the Batteries and also aids in running the two Twin Turbo Fan engines.

Throw in Solar Panels to power the Twin-Engine Airbus E-Fan All-Electric Airplane's and Mini-Wind Turbines to harvest Drag as the Aircraft slices through the air and this Aircraft can move from being a prototype to full Commercial usage.

Flightpath 2050 and Fischer–Tropsch Process - Fossil Fuel a Renewable Resource by 2050

Finally the Airline Industry is catching the All-Electric Vehicle, Hybrid Flex-fuel and Hydrogen Fuel Cell Bug that the Japanese Government has caught as described in my blog article entitled “PEM Fuel Cell Technology gets Japanese Government support - Hydrogen Gas Stations Coming in First World and Developing World Countries”.

The commercialization of Hydrogen Fuel Cell Vehicles from Toyota by 2015 and GM by 2020 is on the horizon. Thus I’ve always wondered what the Airline Industry is doing with regards to meeting the European Commission's Flightpath 2050 in the year 2050.  

European Commission's Flightpath 2050 in an ambitious Emissions Goals set by the EU (European Union) to reduce Air Pollution and Noise Pollution from Propeller and Jet Aircraft to the levels as shown below:

1.      75% reduction in (CO_2(g))  emissions from their 2000 Levels

2.      65% reduction in Noise Levels from their 2000 Levels

3.      90% reduction in Nitrous Oxide (N₂O) emissions

This is a Kyoto Protocol on Green House Gases, but applied specifically to Propeller and Jet Aircraft. Already the EU has had a good head start as their SOLAR-JET Project has been developing a Technique to produce SynGas from Carbon Dioxide (CO_2(g)) and Water (H₂O_(g)) in order to fuel the Fischer–Tropsch Process for making Kerosene as explained in my blog article entitled “SOLAR-JET Project create Kerosene from Syngas - How Fresnel Lens in SynGas for Fischer–Tropsch Process means Fossil Fuel a Renewable Resource by 2017”.

Airbus Group's aim is to manufacture these Aircraft to order in the hundreds of thousands and the final design will be based on the input of Aircraft Design Schools in an apprenticeship program to help develop a cadre of Aircraft Engineers specially trained to diagnose and inspect All-Electric Aircraft.

Commercial Flights with All-Electric Aircraft be it Private Jets to 90-seater Commercial Jet planes by 2030 is certainly an ambitious goal, but one I'd love to see, especially as it means that we'll be flying renewable Fossil Fuels by then.

By then, along with my suggestions of augmenting the Li-Ion Batteries with a Range Extender design and Solar-Wind Energy Recharging, the Fischer–Tropsch Process may eventually result in Aircraft that produces its own fuel while it flies! Who knows, maybe even Hybrid Flex-fuel and Hydrogen Fuel Cell Aircraft may be possible by 2030!

Airbus Group’s Twin-Engine Airbus E-Fan All-Electric Airplane is a kickstart in that direction!