Electric aircraft must be tested in northern Norwegian climate

April was the warmest April ever month.Photo: pixabay.com

Elfly number two and three in Norway have come to Bardufoss in Troms, where they will be tested in cold climates and complicated terrain.

The planes have been acquired by the University of Tromsø (UiT) – the Arctic University of Norway.

“This is number two and three electric aircraft coming to Norway. We have been really looking forward to them coming, now we are looking forward to showing them,” says head of department at the Institute of Technology and Security, Yngve Birkelund, in a press release.

The University of Tromsø School of Aviation (UTSA) collaborates with UiT’s research center Arctic Center for Sustainable Energy (ARC) to make the aircrafts as environmentally friendly as possible. The planes are to be recharged using energy from their own solar park.

“It is part of the transition from fossil to renewable energy. In addition to solar cells, we will test battery storage on the aircraft. With the batteries in the aircraft now, the range is just over an hour, but that is without regard to temperature and weather here in the north,” explains Birkelund.

The two aircraft are made by Slovenian Pipistrel and are of the type Alpha Electro

© NTB Scanpix / #Norway Today

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