![](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/dbffd3786f9997add70d25b5eef546ae.jpg\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
In just 10 years, airline fleets will begin flying electric aircraft, according to independent industry experts, CNN Travel reports. <\/p>\n
Electric motors have already become the norm in the automotive industry. But the prospects for their use Independent experts are cautious about the use of electric propulsion for long-haul flights with large passenger loads. According to aviation industry expert Bj\u00f6rn F\u00e4hrm, electric commercial airliners are at least ten years away from flying. <\/p>\n
The best electric batteries produce 40 times less energy per unit weight than jet fuel. Even with self-charging electric motors, an aircraft would have to carry very heavy batteries. "So heavy that it wouldn't be able to take off," says B. Farm. <\/p>\n
Andreas Klockner, coordinator of the German Aerospace Center, adds that electric aircraft for 2-4 passengers currently exist. However, for longer-range and heavier aircraft, completely new ideas and solutions are needed. <\/p>\n
However, some aircraft manufacturers have already achieved some success in creating fuel-free airliners. In 2015, Airbus's E-Fan aircraft, carrying a single pilot, crossed the English Channel using only an electric motor. In November 2017, Vahana announced it was ready to begin testing an unmanned electric aircraft designed to carry a single passenger or small cargo within a city. <\/p>\n
The maiden flight of the Airbus City, a vertical takeoff aircraft capable of carrying up to four passengers, is scheduled for 2018. In Israel, development of the nine-passenger, all-electric Eviation, capable of covering ranges of 100 to 600 miles, is well underway. The X-57 experimental aircraft, which uses distributed propulsion provided by 14 electric motors integrated into the wings, is scheduled to make its first flight in early 2018. <\/p>\n
Experts note that the development of electric aircraft is one of the points in a plan being implemented by countries around the world in response to climate change, with the prospect of use in the post-oil era.<\/p>\n