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Rolls-Royce electric plane breaks speed record

by on23 November 2021


Fastest battery powered aircraft in the skies

Rolls-Royce has announced that its all-electric plane, dubbed the "Spirit of Innovation," is the fastest of its kind in the world after it reached a maximum speed of 387.4 mph (623 k/h) in recent flight tests. Rolls-Royce, which is not the car company owned by BMW, claimed that the Spirit of Innovation set three new world records earlier this week.

On flight tests carried out on 16 November, Rolls-Royce said its aircraft reached a top speed of 345.4 mph ( 555.9 km/h) over 1.8 miles (3 kilometres), exceeding the current record by 132 mph (213 k/h). It broke another record in a subsequent 9.3-mile (15 kilometres) flight, during which it reached 330 mph (532.1 km/h), surpassing the current record by 182 mph (292.8 km/h).

It smashed another record when it reached 9,842.5 feet (3,000 meters) in 202 seconds, beating the current record by 60 seconds.

This means that the aircraft is the world's fastest all-electric vehicle after reaching a maximum speed of 387.4 mph (623 km/h) during its flight tests.

The aircraft is powered by a 400kW electric powertrain and the most power-dense propulsion battery pack ever assembled in aerospace.

CEO Warren East claimed the result was a milestone toward 'jet zero' and decarbonising transport across air, land and sea.

Last modified on 23 November 2021
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