Back in 2006, Panasonic and Tokyo Institute of technology started working together to produce the world’s first battery powered plane. July 16, 2006 was the day of their triumph when they succeeded in lifting a plane a few meters height in air. The amazing thing about this flight was that the plane was powered by only AA batteries. The plane has a total of 160 AA batteries and on its first flight it flew for less than 60 seconds and covered 400 meters in air. This is quite impressive especially when a pilot weighting 53 kg (117 lb) was also on-board. The curved and funky wingspan of the plane is 31 meters and is designed to cater the sophisticated needs of aerodynamic principles.
Indeed the efforts of students from Tokyo Institute of technology are remarkable and we expect to see more from them in coming future. The research group is continuing to work today and hopes to commercialize the technology one day. Check the video below to watch the plane in action.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Dxc8f7Il6Y[/youtube]
