Solar Impulse co-founder André Borschberg has set up a new company dedicated to developing electric propulsion for aviation. Nyon, Switzerland-based H55, which has been using the electric aEro1 aerobatic aircraft (pictured below) as a demonstrator, will focus on the entire electric propulsion chain: energy source, management, thrust and power, pilot interface and control systems.
The Swiss aviator and entrepreneur knows first-hand the potential of electric flight, not least from setting the solo flight endurance record in 2015 on Solar Impulse 2’s 5-day, 5-night Japan-Hawaii leg. Electric propulsion, Borschberg says, will make air transport cleaner, quieter, safer and more affordable. “What is science fiction today will be the reality of tomorrow,” he says.
Working with Borschberg in H55 are Solar Impulse engineering and marketing veterans Sebastien Demont and Gregory Blatt, former Red Bull paraglider world champion and experienced engineering projects manager Dominique Steffen, and pilot and entrepreneur Thomas Pfammatter.
aEro1
Jean-Marie Urlacher
Source: FlightGlobal.com
