Nasa's First Electric Plane Is Almost Ready To Fly

Nasa's first all-electric aircraft, the x-57 maxwell, is preparing for flight after its cruise motor controllers successfully passed critical tests.

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The all-electric aircraft has been in development for several years and is finally about to take off.

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In december 2017, nasa engineers successfully tested the x-57 battery system, validating that it had the required capacity to safely power a full flight profile.

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After various configurations, the x-57, in its final form, features two larger (60 kw) electric cruise motors

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And 12 smaller (10.5 kw) electric lift motors along the leading edge of the wings.

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The electric motors are specifically designed to generate enough power to take off at standard tecnam p20006t speeds.

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