Another electric airplane?

by Daniel Fink, MD, Chair, The Quiet Coalition

Photo credit: Ákos Szabó

Our colleague, Amy McCoy,  forwarded this announcement from H55, the manufacturer of the Bristell B23 Energic airplane. The B23 is on an American tour, and it made a fourth stop in Las Vegas in June to demonstrate performance in desert heat and low density altitude. H55 is a Swiss company spun off from the Solar Impulse project, which designed and built the first solar-powered aircraft to cross the Atlantic Ocean and later to circumnavigate the globe.

One of the business goals of H55 is to build an electric-powered plane that can be used as a flight trainer at general aviation airports. Here is a video of the plane’s stop in Colorado and another about the plane. In this video, one of the H55 pilots states that flight time is more than an hour, and that it takes 30 minutes to charge to full power after a 30 minute flight. He calls the plane “a flying Tesla.”

The potential reduction in noise at general aviation airports during flight training is also mentioned. H55 claims that in flight the new plane’s noise is below 60 decibels. For an airplane of any size, that’s quiet. This announcement says that the Bristell B23 Energic is so quiet that it didn’t trigger three of an airport’s six sound monitors. Another advantage of an electric plane is that it wouldn’t use the leaded aviation fuel still allowed at general aviation airports, which is causing lead pollution near those airports, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.

Given the newness of the technology, it is important to maintain a healthy skepticism on manufacturer claims. Safety must be established and the flight times and sound levels validated by third parties. But progress is being made and if the Bristell B23 Energic makes the world a quieter place, that indeed will be progress. Quieter, lead-free skies will contribute to a better and healthier world for all.