A private owner has beaten Airbus in the race to fly the first electric aircraft across the English Channel.
Hugues Duwal flew his electric Colomban Cri Cri E-Cristaline across the channel last night, beating the Airbus E-Fan by one day. The E-Fan flight is scheduled for Friday, European time.
The battle for the first electric crossing of the channel turned ugly during the week, when Pipistrel, who had scheduled their flight for 7 July, was prevented from making the attempt by Siemans, who reclaimed the engine they had lent Pipistrel.
According to Siemans, the loan agreement did not allow the engine to be used for an over-water flight.
"We deeply regret the action of Siemens which prevented the flight – especially because on the other hand, it would be Siemens that would enable the flight, being that our aircraft uses a Siemens electric motor," said Pipistrel boss Ivo Boscarol.
"This is why we find this decision even more bizarre and incomprehensible.
"Siemens never forbade Pipistrel to fly over the water with their motor in any document, so Pipistrel never broke any contract with Siemens. We are known as a company that respects the agreements and we will certainly do so in the future. Pipistrel aircraft Alpha Electro is a two-seater, not a single seater like the E-fan, so it can be used for training pilots. It has twice the range and costs one third of the announced price of E-fan.
"The biggest advantage is probably the availability: it is already possible to order and very shortly receive the Alpha Electro - but of course not with a Siemens motor anymore."
Airbus found themselves in the firing line, accused by some of pressuring Siemans into withdrawing the engine to allow the E-Fan the glory of crossing the channel first. In a statement delivered to Australian Flying, Airbus said they had no knowledge of the agreement between Pipistrel and Siemans.
“We applaud all efforts which advance electric flight," the statement said, "but all what we do has to meet legal requirements and highest safety standards. There cannot be any compromise on safety and the authorities have been very stringent in their requests in order to be able to cross the Channel. It would have been fun to cross the Channel together – but this is currently not possible under present circumstances.
There is no comparable status known for any other player. We are not aware of the test status and the agreements between Siemens and Pipistrel. But no serious player in aviation compromises on safety.”
The E-Fan looked certain to take the crown un-opposed, until Duwal launched on Thursday, gazumping one of the world's largest aerospace companies. It brought a smile to the face of Boscarol.
"It is my pleasure to inform you that our friend Hugues Duwal after reading the information that Pipistrel was blocked in flying across the English Channel today became the first electric aircraft to cross the English Channel in his CRI-CRI E-Cristaline Electric aircraft," he announced overnight.
According to Boscarol, Duwal already had a permit to fly his Cri Cri, and needed only a flight plan to cross the channel, but soon after the announcement, an order blocking his flight was issued, an order Duwal elected not to respect.
The whole affair mirrors the 1909 race between Louis Bleriot, Hubert Latham, Charles de Lambert and Arthur Seymour to be the first person to cross the English Channel in an aeroplane. Bleriot won the battle in an aircraft of his own design.