Would you fly in an e-plane? University of Waterloo researcher says it could be the future of the skies [Video]

First there were e-bikes, e-cars and e-buses. Now, the world of electric transportation has expanded to the skies. Researchers at the University of Waterloo have been testing electric planes to find out if they can fly reliably in Canada’s freezing winter weather conditions. Mehrdad Pirnia is the lead researcher of the project at the Waterloo Institute for Sustainable Aeronautics.

Vehicles powered by electricity may soon no longer be limited to the ground, with research in Canada progressing into the testing of e-planes.

In Ontario, researchers at the University of Waterloo have partnered with Waterloo Wellington Flight Centre (WWFC) to test Velis Electro, a small e-plane that runs on batteries similar to an electric vehicle.

The team is doing tests on the e-plane’s batteries to see how well they can withstand flight at different elevations and weather conditions. They are also testing the e-plane’s capacity for short-distance travel.

“We were flying …

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