First cross-channel tour in a certified electric plane stops in Kent

KentOnline / KMTV

Made up of four young pilots aged between 17-23, the Elektro Tour stopped at Rochester this week to spread their message about the future of aviation.

Transcript

00:00If you're scared of heights, you might find this electro-flying.

00:05But this group of young pilots have shown no fear after becoming the first to take a

00:10100% electric certified aircraft across the Channel from France to Kent.

00:15Aged between 17 and 23, Elizabeth, Gabriel, Yestin and Noam all form the ElectroTour team

00:23who've taken their electric plane around France and have hopped over the Channel, stopping

00:28at airports along the way to recharge their batteries, like here at Rochester Airport.

00:33It started about two years ago now, yesterday and I did a flight where we wanted to climb

00:39as high as possible with the airplane and we decided that maybe we could take it to another

00:43level and go as far as possible with this aircraft.

00:46So last year we did the first Tour de France in an electric plane.

00:50This year we've also taken it to another level with the first Channel crossing, which we did

00:55yesterday actually.

00:56It was an amazing experience.

00:58The first step now is landing in Gatwick, which is also quite a big thing.

01:02Their plane, the Papestral Velis Electro, is the first fully electric type-certified aircraft,

01:07meaning it's the only which has been truly given the go-ahead from aviation authorities

01:11to take to our skies.

01:13So I'm lucky enough to have been able to sit inside the Papestral Velis Electro.

01:17I must say, it's a lot more space here than I thought it would be.

01:20That being said, with a co-pilot next to me, we'd very much be shoulder-to-shoulder and we'd

01:24be able to hear each other too, because being an electric aircraft, it's a lot quieter than

01:29a conventional, just 60 decibels when you're up in the air.

01:32You can hear the sound of the propeller over the wind.

01:35So this is not completely noiseless, but the reduction is 80% less compared to a normal

01:44airplane.

01:45So you could just take off the headset and then talk to your friend sitting beside you.

01:50So this is, yeah, the massive difference.

01:53The idea, the whole idea is indeed to convey the advances of electric aviation to all ages.

02:01You know, the aviation sector is still something that kids can dream of and think of having

02:05a job in the future as an airline pilot, maybe in an electric plane one day or all sorts of

02:11energy.

02:12The Velis Electro has an endurance of around 50 minutes, plus some reserves, meaning it's a

02:16perfect choice for pilot training, but without more airports like Rochester offering the facilities

02:22to recharge, it's limited in how far it can travel for now.

02:26Every pilot learning to fly, whether they're going to be fast jets, airline pilots or just

02:30a conventional pilot enjoying their aircraft, puts approximately 5.5 tonne of CO2 into the

02:35atmosphere.

02:36If we can address that with not just the emissions, but also noise pollution on our airfields, especially

02:42at weekends, etc., this aircraft does it.

02:46After a milestone landing at Gatwick, the team are now on their way back to France, where

02:50they hope to continue flying the Velis and inspiring the next generation of pilots.

02:55Bartholomew Hall for KNTV in Rochester.

Category

Transcript

Recommended