Pipistrel’s early-to-the-finish line Alpha Electro may be the first commercially viable e-airplane, but there are other projects on the developmental horizon. Judging their technical merit is an academic exercise, but the companies pursuing them obviously believe there’s a future in electrics, so these are worth a mention here.
If there’s any emerging trend in electric airplanes, last April’s Electric Aircraft Symposium in Santa Rosa, California, revealed it to be a tilt toward serious investment in hybrid-drive aircraft. Airbus has announced an ambitious project, Diamond has done the same and is partnering with Siemens AG, whose breakthrough super-efficient motors for electric aircraft were detailed at the symposium.