Clearing the Fumes Charles Alcock reports for FutureFlight.com, and shares that, “Piaggio Aerospace is laying plans for a possible hydrogen-electric business aircraft featuring a completely new airframe.” Piaggio is probably better know for the Vespa scooters that dot Italian boulevards, Those have even gone electric, a saving grace for pedestrians along the strada who won’t have to inhale two-stroke engine fumes. Piaggio makes two versions of its Elettrica – 45 Km/H (28 mph) and 70 Km/H (43.5 mph). Both powered by a four kilowatt (5.36 horsepower) motor, driven by a 48 Volt, 25 kilogram (55 pound) battery. The speed difference seems to be a software/firmware setting that limits the slower scooter to a regulated speed. It would seem almost natural, then, that the company would electrify its next aircraft. It’s not that simple, according to Piaggio’s Chief Technology Officer. Piaggio Aerospace Piaggio is an industrial giant, established in 1884 and building aircraft since 1915. The firm built single-, twin-, three-, and …
