This All-Electric Helicopter Has Just Created A World Record For The Longest Flight

Electric drivetrains might have been dominating the roads in the recent times but not many have taken to the air as of now. Some modes of electric propulsion are seen in one-off projects like hovercrafts, eVTOLs and others. However, the mainstream adoption of the idea has not been too appealing for many established players in the industry, citing safety or the limited power output of the existing battery technology.

This did not deter a California-based independent engineering company from setting a world record, though. Tier 1 Engineering, a company working to develop an electric helicopter, recently made it to the Guinness World Records for the farthest flight for an electric helicopter. Starting at Los Alamitos Army Airfield, the helicopter managed to cover more than 55 km (30 nautical miles) in over 22 minutes, clocking a speed of around 150 km/h at a height of 800 feet.

Tier 1 Engineering

However, that was not the sole purpose of the electric helicopter. The company intends to come up with a zero-emission helicopter that can be used to transport human organs for transplant. It will then be used by Lung Biotechnology - a biotechnology firm for the same purpose.

As for the helicopter, a converted Robinson R44 helicopter has been remodelled with 67-kilowatt hours of lithium polymer batteries from Brammo. The helicopter uses twin electric motors made by race-car engineering company Rinehart Motion Systems

There have been other forms of helicopters which have appointed the use of electric propulsion to take flight. One such comes in the shape of an octocopter named SureFly, dubbed as a ¡®hybrid-electric eVTOL multi-copter¡¯. The octocopter, however, uses a hybrid engine instead of only relying on an electric drivetrain to be airborne.