Many hybrid cars arrived in the last decade due to the need of less polluting vehicles. Shortly explained, these cars are propelled by electric motors while their batteries are charged by internal combustion engine. Is the hybrid technology applicable to aircrafts? NASA answers “yes, it is”. The space agency has launched the ERA (Environmentally Responsible Aviation) where students from the University of Virginia focused on construction of a hybrid aircraft.
SOURCE: [interestingengineering]
The team used ATR 42-600 airplane for body of their idea. It is a vehicle powered by two turbines which is able transport 48 passengers. Sohail Ahmad and Kelly Thomas led the project and they used the help of FLOPS (Flight Optimization System) the most proper vehicle.
