Siemens Unveils a Little Something Extra

Dean Sigler Batteries, Electric Powerplants, Sustainable Aviation 3 Comments

Extra 330Ls have a long nose, usually cowling a Lycoming IO-540 or -580.  The 330 EL, though, houses 14 battery packs of 18.6 kilowatt-hours each (according to InfoAvion, an Argentinian publication), all to allow the Siemens D-SP260 to flex its 300 horsepower muscle and demonstrate what 1,000 Newton-meters (737 foot-pounds) of torque can do for vertical rolls. Flying Magazine thought that its display at AERO Friedrichshafen in Germany “could be a harbinger of the future of emission-free airshow performances.” Siemens intends to use the 330LE for flight test and optimization of a electric propulsion system based on the 50 kilogram (110 pound) motor on display.  Even the large battery array under the clear plastic cover (for Friedrichshafen only, one presumes, …