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The Airbus E-Fan is a prototype two-seater electric aircraft being developed by Airbus Group. It was flight demonstrated to the world press at the Farnborough Airshow in the UK in July 2014. The target market is pilot training. ==Design and development== Airbus Group is developing an electric aircraft with Aero Composites Saintonge. The aircraft uses on-board lithium batteries to power the two electric motors and can carry two passengers. A test flight was conducted in April 2014 at Mérignac Airport, France, landing in front of a large audience, the French Minister of Industry Arnaud Montebourg being one of them. At the 2014 Farnborough Airshow, Airbus announced that the E-Fan 2.0 will go into production by 2017 with a side-by-side seating layout.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Airbus commits to E-Fan Production )〕 Airbus has stated that there are plans for development of a commercial regional aircraft in the near future. The E-Fan is an all-electric two-seat twin-motor low-wing monoplane of composite material structure. It has a T-tail and a retractable tandem landing gear with outrigger wheels. The two motors are mounted on either side of the rear fuselage. Two production variants are planned, a two-seater E-Fan 2.0 for use as a trainer, and the E-Fan 4.0 four-seater. The E-Fan 4.0 appears identical to the E-Fan apart from a fuselage stretch. To increase flight duration the E-Fan 4.0 will have a hybrid-electric system that will have a small engine to charge the battery (like a Range extender (vehicle)), which will increase its duration from 2 hours to 3.5 hours. First flight of the E-Fan 2.0 is planned for 2014 and the E-Fan 4.0 should follow in 2019.〔 The E-fan is of all-composite construction and is propelled by two ducted, variable-pitch fans spun by two electric motors totaling 60 kW of power. Ducting increases thrust while reducing noise, and having the fans mounted centrally provides better control. The motors moving the fans are powered by a series of 250-volt Lithium polymer battery packs made by South Korean company Kokam. The batteries are mounted in the inboard section of the wings. They have enough power for one hour and take one hour to recharge. An onboard backup battery is available to make an emergency landing if power runs out while airborne. The E-fan's landing gear consists of a retractable fore and aft wheel, and a fixed wheel under the wings. Unusually for an aircraft, the main wheel is powered by a 6 kW electric motor, which allows the plane to be taxied without the main motors, and is able to accelerate it to for takeoffs. Having the takeoff run performed by the undercarriage relieves some of the burden on the flight motors.〔.〕 In December 2014 Airbus announced that DAHER-SOCATA will complete the design work on the aircraft and certify it. VoltAir, an Airbus subsidiary, developed the initial prototype and will work with Daher-Socata during the testing phase as the project manager. At this point the aircraft became the VoltAir E-Fan.〔 On 30 April 2015 the company announced that the aircraft will be produced at Pau Pyrénées Airport, south-west France, at a new facility to be constructed in 2016, that will be near the DAHER-SOCATA plant at Tarbes. First deliveries are expected at the end of 2017 or early 2018.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Airbus E-Fan To Be Built In Pau, France )〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Airbus E-Fan」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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