• 22 Dec 2021 05:27 AM
• 0

Electric Airplane Crosses Cook Strait

On Nov. 1, a Pipistrel Alpha Electro conducted the first flight by an electric aircraft across Cook Strait, which separates the North and South Islands of New Zealand. ElectricAir, a Chirstchurch-based electric aviation firm, organized the historic flight, which occurred 101 years after the first flight between the two islands. The aircraft, piloted by ElectricAir founder Gary Freedman, flew 48.5 miles (78 km) to mark the beginning of the UN COP26 Climate Change Conference in Glasgow. “To meet New Zealand’s emission reduction targets, there is a need to electrify all our transport — road, sea and air, and ElectricAir wants to pave the way and show it can be done,” Freedman said in a statement.