The Extra 330LE, an electric-powered aerobatics plane, has earned two new world speed records from FAI, the World Air Sports Federation.
The plane was flown at two different weights by two different pilots to set two new world records. Both flights were observed by an FAI official.
The records are:
- Speed over a 3km (1.86 miles) course, in a plane with a takeoff weight of 500kg to 1,000kg (1,102-2,204 pounds): 337.5km/h (209 mph). The pilot was Walter Extra of Germany.
- Speed over a 3km (1.86 miles) course, in a plane with a takeoff weight of 1,000kg-1,750kg (2,204-3,858 pounds): 342.86km/h (213 mph). The pilot was Walter Kampsmann of Germany.
Walter Extra took off first at 9:15 a.m. He flew at a height between 400m-550m (1,312-1,804 feet) on a straight course along a pre-determined 3km track in the sky. For each record he made four passes along the course line, each time recording his flight data by GPS. The world record time is an average of the four runs.
Later the same day, Walter Kampsmann took off at 3 pm and completed the same flight plan. He also completed four runs.
They come just four months after Walter Extra set a world altitude record in the same plane, climbing to 3,000m (9,842 feet) in a time of 4:22 on battery power alone. That first flight was called a “technical milestone” by Siemens, the company behind the technology that powers the electric plane.
Walter Extra is chief designer and founder of Extra Flugzeugbau, a manufacturer of aerobatic aircraft.
The e-powered version of the famous aerobatics plane, which is commonly seen at aerobatics displays around the world and is flown in the Red Bull Air Race, has an endurance time of 15-20 minutes. Walter Extra has described flying it as “almost silent.”
Both Walter Extra and Walter Kampsmann will receive their official FAI World Record Diplomas on Saturday, April 8, 2017. They will be presented to the pilots by FAI Deputy President Alvaro de Orleans Borbon at the Siemens booth at the AERO Friedrichshafen air expo in Germany.
That cowling cabling shot reminds me of the Porsche-Mooney I used to instruct in…festooned with lightning bolt ACHTUNG!!! placards warning of high voltage potential electrocution. That was the perfect 1%er’s airplane: pure BS image = big PORSCHE markings but much slower and far more expensive than the stock Mooney.