One should follow Dr. Frank Anton’s Twitter account – or at least check it occasionally. Dr. Anton is head of Siemen’s Electric Aviation Division and posts new developments regularly. Siemens is supplying motors to Diamond Aircraft’s prototype hybrid, a tidy tri-motor if you count the engine/generator in the nose of the formerly single-engine airplane. Partnered with Austria’s Diamond Aircraft Industries GmbH, Siemens motors powered an adaptation of their DA40 four-seat airplane. A Diesel engine/generator in the nose of the formerly single-engine machine charges two 12-kilowatt batteries behind the passenger compartment and provides power to the two Siemens motors on the canard. The whole thing looks a bit like a large economy-size Cri-Cri. Started in 2013, the project is under the …
