The Accelerating the Electrification of Flight (ACCEL) team led by Rolls-Royce is confident that over the next few weeks it will set a world speed record for an electric aircraft. A converted NXT Next kitplane called the Spirit of Innovation—with a 400-kW (500+ hp) electric propulsion system developed jointly by the aero-engines group with battery specialist Electroflight and motor and controller manufacturer Yasa—has made the first two of a planned program of 20 flights. It has already logged a speed within three mph of the current 132 mph record set by France’s Jean Luc Soullier in an Extra 330LE aircraft in March 2017.
In a September 24 media briefing at Boscombe Down military airfield in southern England where the flight trials are continuing, Rolls-Royce said it aims to bring the electric propulsion technology into commercial service by around 2025. The company is already developing an electric propulsion unit for Vertical Aerospace’s VA-X4 eVTOL aircraft and is partnered with Italy’s Tecnam to develop the P-Volt all-electric commuter airliner, for which it is providing batteries, motors, and power electronics. Airbus’s CityAirbus eVTOL technology demonstrator has been flying with a Rolls-Royce propulsion system.
