After nearly 3 years of development, China’s electric plane soars close to launch

After nearly three years of development, China’s first all-electric light aircraft, the Rui Xiang RX1E (pictured), now has its air worthiness certification and is finally close to going on sale.

The two-seater electric plane – which was first revealed in prototype form in November 2012 – has a lithium battery powering its propellor and can fly for 40 minutes on a charge. However, once you factor in range anxiety, I get the feeling few people would push it beyond 20 minutes. That’s a lot shorter than most conventionally powered light aircraft, which can typical fly for about five hours.

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That serious limitation, along with the Chinese military’s strict control of airspace, could make this a tough sell. On the plus side, the RX1E is a lot cheaper to charge up with electricity than a comparable plane would be for an avgas fill-up.

The little Rui Xiang RX1E has put in 240 hours of testing since the first test model was ready to roll in June 2013, according to China Aviation News on its Weibo page. Development first started in June 2012. It was developed at Shenyang Aerospace University in Northeast China, which created the battery power source as well as the carbon fiber composite frame.

The RX1E is set to be the first electric plane to be developed and sold in the country. The price is pegged at RMB 980,000, which is US$157,000.

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(Source: China Aviation News’ Weibo post)