French pilot sets big speed record in tiny electric airplane (video)

It may not be all that fast in the broader world of aircraft speed records, but French pilot Hugues Duval still has a fair bit to boast about with his latest accomplishment. Not only did he actually fly the aircraft pictured above — which weights just 200 pounds and has a wingspan of 16 feet — but he manged to hit a top speed of over 175 miles per hour, breaking his own record for the fastest all-electric airplane by about 15MPH. Not surprisingly, the plane itself (powered by two 35 horsepower electric motors and a pair of 1.5 kWh batteries) is better suited for short hops and the odd record attempt than any long-haul flights, as it’s not able to fly for much more than 25 minutes at a time even at a more reasonable 65 miles per hour. Video after the break (en Fran

Posted by on July 1, 2011. Filed under News, Tech. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.