The first-ever four-engined all-electric aerobatic aircraft, the Cri-Cri, made its official maiden flight at Le Bourget Airport near Paris on September 2.
Jointly developed by EADS Innovation Works, Aero Composites Saintonge and the Green Cri-Cri Association, the Cri-Cri was first unveiled at the Green Aviation Show at Le Bourget in June.
The aerobatic plane incorporates numerous innovative technologies such as lightweight composite structures that reduce the weight of the airframe and compensate for the additional weight of the batteries, four brushless electric motors with counter-rotating propellers which deliver propulsion without CO2 emissions and significantly lower noise compared to thermal propulsion, and high energy-density Lithium batteries.
During its maiden flight, flown by pilot Didier Esteyne, the Cri-Cri’s take-off and climb were reported as smooth, no vibrations could be felt and manoeuvrability was excellent. All systems performed well and the plane returned safely after seven minutes.
“This aircraft flies very smoothly, much more quietly than a plane with conventional propulsion,” Esteyne said. “But we are still at the beginning and have a lot to learn. We are allowed to start aerobatic manoeuvres only after five hours of flight and 15 landings.
“The Cri-Cri is a low-cost test bed for system integration of electrical technologies in support of projects like our hybrid propulsion concept for helicopters,” Jean Botti, EADS’s Chief Technical Officer, stated. “We hope to get a lot of useful information out of this project.”
The combined utilisation of Cri-Cri’s environmentally friendly technical innovations enables the aircraft to deliver novel performance values: 30 minutes of autonomous cruise flight at 110km/h, 15 minutes of autonomous aerobatics at speeds reaching up to 250km/h, and a climb rate of approximately 5.3 m/sec.
While EADS says batteries will not be capable of propelling larger aircraft anytime soon, the company is researching a number of other initiatives as well as Cri-Cri, including algae-based biofuel and a helicopter hybrid propulsion system combining electrical power with piston engines, in its exploration of environmentally friendly air travel.