Cessna 172 Takes
Flight Powered Solely By A Battery Powered
Electric Engine
By
Mike Mitchell
October 18, 2012 - Panacis is announced that
a fully electric Cessna 172 has successfully
flown multiple times powered by Panacis’
advanced lithium batteries.
The aircraft, designed by Colorado-based
Beyond Aviation has been undergoing ground
testing and short hop flights for almost a
year with increasing range and altitude
testing culminating in the recent completion
of the entire test plan.
“The battery system was delivered more than a
year ago to support this program and has been
used in their lab tests and all runway tests,”
stated Steve Carkner, founder and CTO of Panacis.
“The same batteries are still operating the
aircraft; we have had no significant issues with
the battery system and have seen no degradation
in capacity or performance over this long test
cycle.”Airborne electric vehicles
represent the most challenging environment for
energy storage due to the increased need for
reliability and lower weight, when compared to
the simpler systems employed in electric cars.
The power profile of electric aircraft is also
more challenging than electric cars due to the
extreme temperature variations as the aircraft
climbs and the high power requirements during
takeoff. The flight testing of the Cessna 172
demonstrates Panacis’ ability to deliver the
lightest high power battery systems in a
production ready format for applications where
weight is critical.
The use of UAVs (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles) is
one of the fastest growing segments of the U.S.
Military with an estimated 12% annual growth
projected to reach more than $18B in 2018
according to the U.S. Military Unmanned Aerial
Vehicles (UAV) Market Forecast 2013-2018. The
majority of UAVs are powered by batteries and
can benefit from the technology demonstrated by
Panacis in these recent aircraft tests.
Beyond
Aviation is a high-energy R&D company
dedicated to bringing clean energy solutions to
general and commercial aviation. Headed by
Charles Johnson, former President of Cessna and
former USAF F-105 Fighter Pilot, Beyond
Aviation’s goal is to create a revolutionary
fully electric powertrain capable of powering
aircraft systems of the future without relying
on carbon fuels.
Panacis
designs and manufactures advanced lithium
powerpack systems that are safe, reliable,
rugged, and scalable. The company has a deep
understanding of cell chemistry,
electronics, and packaging is trusted by
their customers, who have “Impossible Power”
requirements that are unmet by conventional
products. Panacis’ powerpacks are found in
soldier systems, aviation platforms, ground
vehicles, medical devices, and off-grid
energy storage where other batteries cannot
compete. Their patented, breakthrough
innovations turn energy storage into a
competitive advantage for their customers.
Other News Stories
(For the latest news please
checkout our home page)
