TEACO’s Bat – an Electric Race Plane

Dean Sigler Electric Powerplants, Sustainable Aviation Leave a Comment

Imagine near-silent air races that don’t involve sailplanes. The Electric Aircraft Company (TEACO) near the Welsh border in Gloucestershire, England is proposing just such a series of races, combining the best of Reno-style pylon racing with Red Bull color and style. Roger Mottram, founder of an association that will race these sleek, light craft, notes the elements that may help make such races possible and successful.  “Motors are getting smaller and becoming more powerful and battery technology is going the same way.  Our plan is to go ‘fast and furious’, unlike endurance planes, which rely on small motors and big wings.” Mottram thinks his “Bat,” of carbon-fiber/honeycomb sandwich construction can go “substantially faster” than Chip Yates’ recent 201 mph record for electric aircraft. The Bat’s 195 kilogram empty weight, including batteries, coupled with back-to-back electric motors running contra-rotating propellers, would allow a cruise speed of 160 mph and a never-exceed velocity of 220 mph. Note: different reports indicate a single 60 …