Tomorrow, the first electric plane will fly across the English Channel

The English Channel isn't just the body of water that separates Great Britain from its European neighbors, it's also something of a yardstick in aviation. Need to prove that your new flying technology is ready for prime time? Flying the 20.6 miles (33.1km) from Calais to Dover will do that. The first person to reach England by means other than boat was Louis Blériot in 1909. More recently, Felix Baumgartner (of the Red Bull Stratos jump) used a jet pack and carbon fiber wing to skydive across the straight in 2003. Now it's the electric airplane's turn.

Tomorrow, Airbus is going to attempt a Channel crossing with the e-Fan electric airplane, flying from Lydd, UK to Calais, France. The e-Fan is propelled by a pair of ducted fans, good for 80hp (60kW), powered by lithium polymer batteries stored in the plane's carbon fiber wings. But the flight is not without controversy. A rival crossing had been planned for earlier this week by the Slovenian plane builder Pipistrel and its Alpha Electro, a more conventional propeller plane powered by a 67hp (50kW) electric motor. Now Pipistrel is crying foul and blaming a conspiracy between Airbus and Siemens (who supply the electric motor in Pipistrel's Alpha-Electro).

Airbus

The all-electric aircraft from Airbus Group Innovations, the E-Fan, at the Osons La France economic summit at the Grand Palais, Paris.

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Pipistrel obtained permission from the French civil aviation authority to cross the Channel on July 7, but its plans came to a halt just two days before the attempt. In a statement, Pipistrel's general manager Ivo Boscarol quoted a letter sent to the company by Siemens, which states, "Our Motor in its current version is neither designed, nor tested, nor approved by us for a flight above water—we explicitly prohibit you to use or let anyone else use our Motor for any flight above water." Pipistrel's US dealer went further, telling FLYER that Airbus' bad sportsmanship was really to blame. "Airbus managed to flex their muscle with Siemens who are supplying motors to Pipistrel and have the Pipistrel motor agreement immediately terminated," it said.

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