Only two months after taking its maiden flight, Rolls-Royce’s all-electric Spirit Of Innovation aircraft reportedly hit a record-breaking speed of 623km/h (387.4mph).
The prototype aircraft, on November 16, 2021, reached a top speed of 555.9 km/h (345.4 mph) over 3 kilometers, according to the data submitted by the company to the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI). The speed makes the prototype the world’s fastest all-electric aircraft, surpassing the previous record by 213.04 km/h (132mph).
In another flight, the electric plane clocked a speed of 532.1km/h (330mph) over 15 kilometers and climbed to an altitude of 3 kilometers in 202 seconds, breaking several records.
Rolls-Royce CEO Warren East said the advanced battery and propulsion technology used in this prototype aircraft has several exciting applications for the advanced air mobility market.
“Following the world’s focus on the need for action at COP26, this is another milestone that will help make ‘jet zero’ a reality and supports our ambitions to deliver the technology breakthroughs society needs to decarbonize transport across air, land, and sea,” said Warren East.
Notable Features of Spirit of Innovation
The aircraft has a 400kW electric power train and a 6,480-cell 750V battery used to drive three propellers that complete 2,200 revolutions per minute. The battery used in the aircraft has enough energy to charge 7,500 smartphones.
“Spirit Of Innovation is a bit different from other existing electric-powered aircraft in that it has been optimized for speed, which means that the batteries are used up very quickly – the aircraft can only fly for around seven to eight minutes with enough power remaining to land with reserves,” explained Bill Read, deputy editor of Aerospace, the magazine of The Royal Aeronautical Society.
“Future designs for electric commercial aircraft will be concentrating more on endurance to keep the batteries running for as long as possible to increase range,” he added.
FAI is the World Air Sports Federation that controls and certifies world aeronautical and astronautical records.
