- Rolls Royce Company has introduced an All-Electric Rolls Royce Aircraft which has broken the record as the world’s fastest vehicle.
- The electric aircraft conducted a test flight at Boscombe Down in the UK and broke several records in its maiden run.
- The CEO of Rolls Royce asserts that electric aircraft will be a step towards the future of introducing greenhouse gas emission-free transport systems on both land and air.
A history of broken records
The All-Electric Rolls Royce Aircraft has been officially declared as the world’s fastest all-electric vehicle. It has an awestruck top speed of 555.9 km/h just over the range of three kilometres.
The previous record for the world’s fastest all-electric vehicle was held by the Siemens aircraft powered Extra 330 LE Aerobatic. The former king of machines had clocked the speed of lightning speed of around 213.4 km/h in the year 2017.
During its further runs at the UK Ministry of Defence’s Boscombe Down experimental aircraft testing site, the electric aircraft crafted by renowned automobile company Rolls Royce managed to touch a top speed of a mind-boggling 532.1 km/h for over 15 kilometres. During this course, it not only managed to set a world record but also conquered and surpassed its own previous record by 292.8km/h.
Furthermore, this engineering marvel also broke the record of the fastest estimated time to climb to 3,000 metres by 60 seconds. It took a mere 202 seconds to achieve this amazing feat.
During the period of this test flight, the aircraft was breaking all sorts of established records in history. The all-electric engine was propelled by a 400kW electric powertrain which is capable enough to produce as much as 500 horsepower worth of power. It also has the densest population battery pack known to mankind.
Faces behind the monumental test flight
Phil O’Dell who is the Rolls Royce Director of Flight Operations was the pilot at the helm during the record flight attempt at Boscombe. After the record-breaking flight, he exclaimed with profound pride that this was probably the biggest milestone in his career and an immense achievement for the whole team behind Rolls Royces’ feat.
Electroflight, which is a company mainly involved with manufacturing battery systems with notably high energy density, was the aviation energy storage specialist on the mission. YASA(Yokeless and Segmented Armature) Limited was the automotive power strain supplier and the firm was the partner of Rolls Royce in this record flight attempt.
A magnifying glass into the future of automobile engineering
Claims have been made by Rolls Royce that the advanced battery and propulsion technology developed for this particular programme was so advanced that it has rightly found its applications in Advanced Air Mobility markets as well.
The CEO of the multinational automobile company has even claimed that this groundbreaking milestone was a step in the direction of making “jet zero” a reality and achievable target. “Jet Zero” is a plan of action brought into reality by the UK government which plans to introduce carbon-free transatlantic flights by bringing down greenhouse gas emissions. Hence this mission was considered to be a baby step towards decarbonising transport systems over both land and air. This innovation could be a massive breakthrough as far as the health of our civilization and the general health of our blue planet is concerned.
