Chip Yates’ Records Ratified by FAI

Dean Sigler Electric Powerplants, Sustainable Aviation Leave a Comment

With recognition this week of five electric airplane records set by Chip Yates in flights last year, the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) and the National Aeronautic Association (NAA) ratified performance numbers that top those of most single-engine high-performance gasoline-powered aircraft from established manufacturers, according to Yates.  Your editor was on hand for the California Capital Airshow last October to see Chip take his Long-ESA to 500 meters (1,640 feet) from a standing start in only 62.58 seconds, 17 seconds faster than the previous record set by a fossil-fuel burner. The new records were really set last year between September and November and have just been ratified. They include an altitude of 4,481 meters (14,701 feet), a time to climb to 3,000 meters (9,840 feet) of five minutes, 32 seconds, and maintaining an altitude of 4,439 meters (14,564 feet) in horizontal flight.  Chip achieved two speed records, reaching an average of 324.02 kilometers per hour (201 mph) in four passes over …