NASA's Electric Aircraft Could Revolutionize Your Work Commute
BAKERSFIELD (CBS SF) -- Planes could soon be ditching the jet fuel for electricity.
On Tuesday, NASA and Joby Aviation researchers in Bakersfield tested a 31-foot-span multi-rotor electronic wing powered by lithium batteries.
"It is the sexiest thing I've even seen," said founder of Joby Aviation Joeben Bevirt. "It will replace ground transportation and allow us to fly rather than drive."
A greater number of small propellers allow the plane to have a quieter buzzing sound as it flies through the air rather than a ripping roar sound associated with modern day airplanes.
"By distributing these propellers across the leading edge of the wing, we're able to decrease the dynamic pressure over the wing and build an aircraft with a smaller, more efficient wing," Bevirt said.
The video shows the experimental wing mounted on a semi-truck to test the airplane motors at different speeds.
"By making aircraft that are more efficient and quieter those aircraft can land at airports that are much closer to where you live and where you work," Bevirt said.
NASA says that if all goes as planned, within 10 years you could be flying to work with this new electronic propulsion design projected to use five times less energy than an existing gasoline motor.