'Green' Aircraft Successfully Tested In The UK

After hybrid cars, has the time come for hybrid aircrafts? It’s still to early to tell, but researchers of Cambridge University, working in association with Boeing have just announced a first important step in this direction. On Tuesday, in Sywell Aerodrome, near Northampton, they ran a series of test flights using an aircraft powered by a parallel hybrid-electric propulsion system.

The aircraft, a modified, commercially-available, lightweight single-seater, uses a combination of a 4-stroke piston engine and an electric motor, which could also turn into a power generator. The hybrid power system is based on a Honda engine; the batteries, a set of 16 large lithium-polymer cells, are located in special compartments built into the wings.