At the 2011 Paris Air Show at Le Bourget this week, the European Aeronautic Defense and Space Company N.V. (EADS) showcased at least three electric flight vehicles \u2013 two emonstrating current reality and one pointing toward a cleaner future for short-to-medium range airliners.<\/p>\n
Cri-Cri, the four-motored, contra-rotating props on stalks aerobatic wonder, did indeed perform at the 2011 Paris Air Show, doing six-minute routines daily at the show.\u00a0 Didier Esteyne, the plane’s obviously accomplished pilot, explains things in this video.<\/p>\n
http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=76h4VA3yoNI <\/p>\n
Emmanuel Joubert, Program Head for the All-electric Cri-Cri at EADS, explained the plane\u2019s advantages.\u00a0 \u201cIn all-electric mode, the plane\u2019s performance during climb and aerobatics is better compared to a conventional aircraft of this type.\u00a0 This allows the pilot to really have \u2018fun flying\u2019 \u2013 with no noise and high torque at low and high speed.\u201d<\/p>\n
Because of the light weight and small size of the Cri-Cri, initial flights <\/a>were limited to 20 minutes, but now run 30 minutes, with further work\u00a0expected to lead\u00a0to 35-minutes.<\/p>\n Joubert noted that because of the small size of the craft, \u201cAll innovative concepts and technologies applied in this platform need to be downscaled to a very small size and very light weight, which leads researchers to be very creative.\u201d<\/p>\n