THE E-FAN ALL ELECTRICAL AIRCRAFT

DEMONSTRATOR AND ITS INDUSTRIALIZATION

Emmanuel Joubert*, Denis Chapuis*, Didier Esteyne**, Jean-Christophe Lambert*,
Olivier Siri*, Detlef Müller-Wiesner*
*Airbus Group, **VoltAir SAS

Keywords: electrical propulsion, E-FAN, Battery, electrical engine

Abstract emissions but will reach physical limits before

achieving these objectives.
Airbus Group and its partners seek to bring the
Therefore disruptive innovation on aircraft is
advantages of electric aircraft into daily use
necessary. One axis is the design of new
opening a future for aviation with fewer
propulsion architectures. The main key enabler
emissions, lower noise levels and higher
is electricity, used as a new vector of energy. In
operating efficiency. Lower noise levels of
this context Airbus is driving a roadmap to
electric propulsion would significantly relieve
master and stretch electrical and hybrid
airport residents – thus potentially allowing
propulsion. E-Fan two seat electrical aircraft is a
extending flight operation times and leveraging
major step of this plan.
the capacity for increasing air traffic. Hybrid
In order to assess the long-term potential and
propulsion is the enabler to significantly reduce
opportunities of electricity as an alternative
the emissions of CO2, NOx, and particulate. An
major onboard energy source, Airbus Group and
all-electric aircraft would even cut in flight
its partners undertook several projects starting
emissions to zero. The Airbus Group
by re-engineering an ICE (Internal Combustion
Innovations research and technology network is
Engine) -powered light aircraft into an electrical
leading a company-wide electric aircraft
one using batteries as a main energy storage
roadmap. This strategy outlines a step-by-step
system and equipped with data acquisition
approach for Airbus Group’s short-, medium-
systems to designing from scratch a full
and long-term development of electric planes.
electrical aircraft Efan. Impacts study and
The E-Fan project is a key element of this
analysis were performed and a computational
roadmap. Thanks to e-Fan project, industry will
simulation platform has been developed and
gain expertise in everything from developing e-
validated against flight measurements for both
system architecture and validating battery
projects.
technologies to the actual operation of
electrical propulsion systems in real-life
aviation conditions. 2 Achievements: All Cri Cri Electrical
Aircraft
As a forerunner the all-electric Cri-Cri paved
1 Introduction
the way to the E-Fan project. The Cri-Cri is the
Commercial air transportation growth for the first-ever four-engine all-electric aerobatic
next decades shall be sustainable. This global plane. The MC-15 aircraft or CriCri is a very
idea have been detailed, like in Flightpath 2050 small airplane with low cost and acrobatic flight
document, presenting Europe’s vision for capabilities. Originally, it is the smallest twin
aviation, including strong objectives for engine aircraft powered by two 2-stroke
protecting the environment and the energy engines, each one delivering 11 kW at 6000
supply. Current aircrafts architectures RPM and consuming 10 l/h at 200 km/h. The 23
improvements have the potential to reduce the liters fuel tank allows a maximum flight

1
endurance of almost 2 hours and a range of 450 forced passive cooling system through scoops in
km. The all-electric Cri-Cri has jointly been the fuselage.
developed by Airbus Group Innovations and a
SME (Small / Medium Sized Enterprize) Aero
Composites Saintonge. The official maiden
flight has been carried out at Le Bourget airport
near Paris in September 2010. It has cumulated
more than 50 flights making it the first electrical
aerobatic aircraft in demonstration at Le
Bourget 2011. This low-cost testbed is a French
Cri-Cri ultra-light aircraft that has been
modified for all-electric propulsion with its
original pair of nine horsepower piston engines
replaced by four brushless electrical motors,
each powered by a high energy-density lithium
polymer battery. This unique four engine Figure 1: Electric motors configuration and
aircraft has literally turned the future of aviation air inlets visualization
propulsion upside down.
2.2 Battery Pack High energy density and high
power density Lithium-Polymer 5Ah cells were
selected for this demonstrator. These battery
cells achieve an energy density of 146 Wh/kg
that falls to 127.7 Wh/kg after including all
necessary sensors and packaging. Each of the 4
motors has one battery pack connected to it,
Figure 1: All electric Cri-Cri leading to 4 completely independent electrical
chains. Each pack is formed by 2 parallel sets of
24 battery cells in series. This results in 192
2.1 Electrical motors and power electronics battery cells for the complete battery system.
The final power density achieved by this system
Electrical motors design was based on the was 2.5 kW/kg leading to a lighter propulsive
maximum required power for take-off and system than the original internal combustion
acrobatic flight. 4 electrical motors of about 5.5 engine system.High integration constraints in
kW were selected off-the-shelf and installed in terms of mass and volume needed to be taken
an innovative configuration. In fact, each 2 into account as well as impacts on aircraft
permanent magnet brushless synchronous centering. Also, since CriCri is designed to
electrical motors were installed in push-pull perform acrobatic maneuvers, facing high
configuration as shown in Fig. 2. Those accelerations, the batteries needed to be tightly
electrical motors have external rotors which is fixed to the fuselage. Metallic rods were
not very common compared to classical installed connecting the packs to the metallic
configurations of electrical machines, however, structure of the aircraft and an isolation foam
external rotors enable to install the propeller was installed under the battery packs to improve
blades directly on the rotor. The main drawback mechanical loads distribution on the fuselage.
of this external rotor configuration lies in stator Battery packs final configuration and their
heating issues. To solve the heating problem, a volume allocation within the aircraft is shown in
forced passive cooling system for the motors Figure 3 and 4.
through air circulation in their internal parts was
adopted. The power electronics system is
located in the nose of the airplane and it has a

2
 also help with the certification of electrical
flight. The E-Fan project is supported by the
French Directorate General for Civil Aviation
(DGAC) as well as regional government
institutions in southwest France and involves an
association between Airbus Group, SMEs and
academia.
Figure 3: Battery Pack configuration
The E-Fan is an entirely new concept for an
electric aircraft, whose design started with a
clean sheet in a very short and agile way: 9
months was necessary for the role out and 9
additional months for the maiden flight.
It is the first purpose-built electric powered
training aircraft. All other models to date are
based on existing conventionally powered
airframes. The E-Fan’s aerodynamics, such as
Figure 4: Battery Pack integration the integration of the landing gear into the
fuselage for low drag, and the energy
Battery cooling was not necessary since the management and safety features were designed
internal resistance in the batteries is relatively from the outset specifically for electrical
low. Also, in case of an unexpected overheating, propulsion.
there are many sensors scattered all over the However, the performance of the aircraft is
packs, so that batteries temperature is always revolutionary in terms of noise reduction, there
monitored. If the temperature reaches critical are no CO2 emissions in-flight and vibrations
levels, alarms on the pilot’s panel are activated are significantly reduced compared to aircraft
in order to prevent the pilot to take appropriate powered by combustion engines. The E-Fan was
measures. designed to be compatible with flight training
and aeroclub requirements, such as hangar
Based on the first success on Cri Cri, Airbus parking space and flight endurance. With
Group has decided to follow the learning curve electrical propulsion, there is no reduction of
with EFAN 1.0 performance at altitude and in hot weather, no
propeller torque effects and no vibrations,
providing a very smooth flight.
3 Achievements: E-Fan 1.0 As a first for an electrically powered aircraft,
the E-Fan features a pyrotechnically deployed
Following the green cri-cri experience, the E-
airframe parachute rescue system. An optimized
Fan 1.0 brought electric propulsion to the
electrical energy management system (e-
general aviation sector. The two-seater E-Fan is
FADEC) is integrated into the aircraft, which
particularly suited for short missions such as
automatically handles all electrical features,
pilot training, glider towing and aerobatics, with
thereby simplifying the monitoring and
a flight endurance of 30 minutes for aerobatics
controlling of the systems. The e-FADEC
to one hour for pilot training. E-Fan can bring
reduces the pilots’ workloads, allowing the
significant benefits in terms of cost per flight
instructor and the student to fly the aircraft and
hour in the General Aviation domain.
focus on the basic training mission.
Small electric aircraft are seen as a key step
towards introducing electric propulsion on
larger aircraft. The E-Fan is a highly innovative
technology demonstrator and a flying test bed
stimulating research in electric propulsion and

3
3.1 Electrical Propulsion
E-Fan 1.0 propulsion is provided by two electric
motors, each with a combined power of a
maximum of 60 kW, driving a ducted fan. The
duct reduces the perceived noise and improves
safety on the ground. With the engines located
close to the centre-line of the aircraft, the E-Fan
has very good controllability in single-engine
flight.

Figure 6: Battery Installation

Figure 5: Electrical Ducted Fan 3.3 Electrical Landing Gear

Another innovation of the E-FAN is its landing
3.2 Battery System gear, which consists of two electrically actuated
The E-Fan’s motors are powered by a series of retractable wheels positioned fore and aft under
250 V Lithium polymer batteries made by the fuselage, plus two small wheels under the
KOKAM in the Republic of Korea. They are wings. The aft main wheel is driven by a 5 kW
housed within the inboard part of the wings electric motor providing power for taxiing and
outside the cockpit and provided with venting acceleration up to 60 km/h during take-off,
and passive cooling. Because of timing and reducing overall electrical power consumption
availability constraints, off-the-shelf Lithium in day-to-day operation.
ion polymer batteries are used in the technology
demonstrator, giving an endurance of 40
minutes. New batteries with a higher energy 3.4 The Challenge of the E-Fan 1.0 Channel
density will be installed later on, which will Flight
increase the endurance to up to 60 minutes to 90
Since its first flight in April 2014, the E-Fan
minutes.
team has constantly been working to improve
The batteries can be recharged in 3 hour or they
the technology on-board to reach more than 100
can be rapidly replaced by means of a quick-
flights. At the 2015 Paris Air Show in June,
change system (a feature which is not yet
Airbus Group highlighted the continuous
available on the demonstrator aircraft). An on-
enhancements made to E-Fan in just over a year
board 24 V electrical network supplies the
and a half, which have resulted in increased
avionics and the radios via a converter. A
battery capacity, reduced weight and a new
backup battery is provided for emergency
retractable landing gear. These are highly
landing purposes.
valuable stepping stones on Airbus Group’s
Extensive research and stress testing has proven
path towards electrical aviation, which would
that the E-Fan battery system provides ample
drastically reduce noise pollution and emissions.
safety margins. Close monitoring of all battery
cell parameters is performed during test flights.
On 10th July 2015 Airbus Group’s E-Fan
technology demonstrator became the world’s
first twin-engine electric plane taking off with

4
its own power to successfully cross the English
Channel, some 106 years after Louis Blériot’s
epic flight traveling in the opposite direction to
the pioneering Frenchman and powered by
lithium-ion batteries, the E-Fan took off from
Lydd on the English south coast, completing the
74 kilometer flight east to Calais, France, in
around 37 minutes.

Figure 8: E-Fan 1.0 crossing the Channel

4 E-Fan 2.0
Airbus Group's E-Fan demonstrator settled the
stage for subsequent production versions: first,
the two-seat E-Fan 2.0 version for basic pilot
training, then the E-Fan 4.0, a four-seat airplane
for full pilot licensing and the general aviation
Figure 7: Blériot’s & E-FAN’s route across the market. To achieve these production versions,
Channel the company has already signed agreements
with its partners for the E-Fan program’s
Flown by Didier Esteyne, the all-electric plane industrialization phase. Voltair SAS, a new
weighs around 600 kilogram and travelled at an 100% Airbus Group-owned company, will
altitude of about 1,000 meters [3,500 feet]. develop, build and offer services for E-Fan 2.0
versions. These production versions are focused
While the E-Fan has made more than 100 flights on users’ needs. E-Fan 2.0 operating costs are
preparations for this very special trip were pegged at one-third of traditional piston-engine
extensive and included a dedicated test and light aircraft. A ground-based charging unit will
verification program put together by French be able to bring the aircraft batteries to their full
flight authorities, Airbus Group and its partners flight endurance in 60 minutes.
(Safran and Zodiac as key partners for Electrical Voltair SAS is committed to working closely
Power Unit). During this flight test campaign, with airworthiness authorities on E-Fan’s
the E-FAN retrofitted demonstrated an certification as a Light Sport Aircraft (LSA), as
endurance up to 1 hour and a capability to this will be the first time an electric plane is
perform the mission in a total safe way both in approved for general aviation operations.
nominal and degraded mode. At the time of the
Channel crossing, all the Electrical Power Unit Engineering schools and their apprenticeship
data was in real time monitored thanks to an air- program will also have a strong involvement in
air telemetry system. the E-Fan’s development and production. They
The E-Fan’s successful journey demonstrated will bring the fresh perspective and ideas of
the future possibilities of electric flight; it has young talent that represents the aerospace
been also homage to Louis Blériot, one of the industry’s next generation.
all-time greats of aviation.
The E-Fan 2.0 version is a fully electric training
aircraft powered only by batteries recharged by
a ground station. It requires a light structure,
high efficiency powertrain and batteries with
both high power density and high energy
density. The plane will also use the experience

5
of the latest Airbus Group Innovations concept Aircraft. The industrialized E-Fan 2.0 as an all
about connected cockpit for electric aircraft. electrical aircraft mainly dedicated to the initial
The E-Fan 2.0 is a purpose built aircraft training of private pilots will introduce an
requiring massive innovations. This aircraft is essential number of electrical aircraft into real
currently in its design phase. day to day flight application thus paving the
way for electrical-/hybrid propulsion step by
4.1 Main E-Fan 2.0 Characteristics step to larger aircraft.
The main characteristics of EFAN 2.0 are:
- Endurance : 60 minutes + 30 reserve
including several TO during the mission Copyright Statement
- Recharge : 1 hour
The authors confirm that they, and/or their
- 2 seat
company or organization, hold copyright on all
- MTOW = 600 kg
of the original material included in this paper.
- Certification : CS-LSA
The authors also confirm that they have
obtained permission, from the copyright holder
of any third party material included in this
5 Other Projects paper, to publish it as part of their paper. The
authors confirm that they give permission, or
E-Fan 2.0 is setting the stage for the Airbus have obtained permission from the copyright
Goup E-Aircraft roadmap, which ranges from holder of this paper, for the publication and
serial E-Fan production to long-term goals such distribution of this paper as part of the ICAS
as a potential hybrid-electric regional airliner or proceedings or as individual off-prints from the
helicopter. proceedings.
The product strategy is closely supported by the
roadmap’s other component – the concurrent
technology development of ground and flying
demonstrators to evaluate the feasibility and
benefits of e-aircraft technology.
This activity is led by Airbus Group’s E-
Aircraft System House and covers research on a
wide range of disruptive technologies and
programs, along with collaborative projects. The
knowledge and expertise gained will enable
improvements across the Group’s product
range, including more on-board electrical power
to increase aircraft efficiency, reduce noise and
lower emissions.

6 Conclusion

All electric flight demonstrators from Cri-Cri to

E-Fan did successfully demonstrate that
electrical propulsion is applicable to Light Sport