An aircraft that has been in the market for 3 years has just set a speed record for electric aircraft and everyone is in awe. The vehicle belongs to Rolls-Royce, and it proved its high speed at a UK Ministry of Defense testing site last week. It reached a speed of 623 km/h (387.4 mph). It also makes it the world’s fastest vehicle of any kind.
From the ground up, the objective of the Spirit of Innovation was to beat the record of 210mph set by Siemens in 2017. The aircraft is propelled by a 500-hp (400-kW) all-electric powertrain and battery pack of 6,000 cells, making it the aircraft with the most energy-dense battery pack ever.
The Spirit of Innovation completed its first taxi tests back in March, and then flew for the first time in September, completing a 15-minute flight and kicking off a more advanced testing phase. This time the flight took place at the UK Ministry of Defense’s Boscombe Down experimental aircraft testing site, setting some world records.
The flight attained a height of 3,000 m (9,840 ft) in 202 seconds. The company broke its own record by 60 seconds. It reached a maximum speed of 555.9 km/h (345.4 mph) over 3 km (1.9 miles) and achieved a top speed of 532.1 km/h (330 mph) over 15 km (9.3 miles). These three world-record claims have been submitted to the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale for official certification.
“Flying the ‘Spirit of Innovation’ at these incredible speeds and believing we have broken the world record for all-electric flight is a momentous occasion,” says test pilot Phill O’Dell. “This is the highlight of my career and is an incredible achievement for the whole team. The opportunity to be at the forefront of another pioneering chapter of Rolls-Royce’s story as we look to deliver the future of aviation is what dreams are made of.”