OSHKOSH, Wis. (WTAQ) - If you think you need jet fuel to fly an airplane, think again. About a half dozen futuristic electric planes are on display at this week’s EAA Air Venture show in Oshkosh.
Uneek of China is showing off its products for the second straight year. It has the E-430 and the Viva on display. Marketing director Clive Coote says they sound like little whistles to the passengers who fly in them.
That smoothness will cost about 90 thousand dollars when the E-430 goes on sale late next year. Coote says both aircraft look and act like gliders. The E-430 has a shorter wingspan, and it’s powered by an electric engine with two hours of flight time for each battery charge.
The battery costs about 19 thousand dollars, and it has three thousand hours for its lifetime. Coote says flight schools are among the main markets for the electric planes. That’s because it lets trainees try out flying techniques they’ll use in conventional gas-engine planes.
