e-Genius

E-Genius breaks world record again

April 25, 2022

Back in Business: Two major world records achieved
[Picture: University of Stuttgart / Institut of Aircraft Design]

E-Genius", the electric aircraft designed by the Faculty of Aerospace Engineering and Geodesy at the University of Stuttgart, has once again broken world records in the categories of speed and distance. With these new records, the e-Genius has demonstrated that electrically powered aircraft can not only be efficient, but also fast. This research aircraft was developed and built at the University of Stuttgart and advanced by a team led by Prof. Andreas Strohmayer, Jonas Lay, Andreas Bender, Alexander Albrecht. It was designed specifically to achieve efficient electric flight. The engine of the aircraft is installed in the tail, and it is this design feature that has helped it break records.  

View e-Genius

For the two FAI world record attempts in the electric aircraft category, the e-Genius team was able to recruit Klaus Ohlmann - a world-renowned record-breaking pilot who traveled especially from France. The team aimed to break the current records for speed and distance with two long flights. With the first flight, the e-Genius team aimed to prove the capabilities of the new design.

Team of e-Genius

On April 20, the aircraft took off on a round-trip flight of more than 500 km - a distance achieved by no other electric aircraft, except Solar Impulse. According to the regulations of the World Air Sports Federation FAI, the outwards and return journeys must be flown using the same route, to ensure that no one benefits from a strong tailwind. The weather on the day of the flight was perfect, so that the entire route from the Mengen airfield to near the Czech border and back could be flown at 9500 ft. The e-Genius team was so fast that it was already apparent on the return flight that the record would be broken. The final result was an average speed of 207.65 km/h over the entire distance, which even exceeded expectations.

Tracking e-Genius

The team then attempted the distance record for electric aircraft the following day. The planned route stretched from Mengen to Freiburg, then along the Alps to Upper Bavaria, around the control area Munich, Vilshofen, Regensburg, Ulm and back to the launch site with a small detour to make the route a nice round number: 1003.6 km is the official result of the trip and will be the new record to beat.

Team of e-Genius

All of the prototype's systems functioned flawlessly during the longest flight the e-Genius - and any other (hybrid) electric aircraft for that matter - has ever completed. A respectable time of 12:33 hours was recorded in the logbook within one week (3 flights), during which the team was able to collect a large amount of helpful data for the next flight and for electric flights in general, to help them continue to push the boundaries of aviation.

e-Genius
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