“Fox, alpha, well done to the starting point, ready to take off.
The two elegant electric two-seater set off on Wednesday from the track in Lausanne (Switzerland) for a race without noise and without CO2 emissions.
The Elektropostale raid is a truly electrifying great first.
"We want to develop what will be the aviation of the future, while highlighting the values of sharing the legendary Aéropostale line", explains Hervé Bérardi, founder of this race.
During this 100% electric adventure, the pair of Pipistrel Velis Electro, the only electric model authorized to fly in the hexagonal sky, will multiply the jumps of chip.
Because these machines have only 50 minutes of autonomy, with a reserve of 30 minutes in case of concern.
The goal is to reach eleven stages in four days.
They will end on Saturday in Aix-en-Provence (Bouches-du-Rhône).
The new pioneers
A hundred years ago, the heroes of aviation, including Saint-Exupéry and Jean Mermoz, built the legendary Aéropostale line, which at the beginning of the 20th century transported mail and travelers to West Africa and South America. .
A century later, pioneers of a different kind will therefore take turns in the air.
All participants are explorers committed to cleaner aviation.
Behind the handle, we find, for example, Bertrand Piccard who has toured the world aboard the SolarImpulse solar plane and who has since been preaching for a future of CO2-free aviation.
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We flew in the Alpha electro, the only electric plane in France
Raphaël Domjan, another Swiss, will enter the silent cockpit.
Is his name familiar to you?
Last month, he was the first man to parachute from an electric plane.
Aviator Loïc Blaise is back in service with this very special raid: the first to have circled the globe via the Arctic Circle had put an end to his flights to stop polluting.
"The spirit of conquest of the air does not only pay homage to past adventures, it also maintains the audacity of the first by daring a revolutionary vision of the future in the air", explains astronaut Jean-François Clervoy. also adventure.
During an expedition with NASA in 1999, it was this
Frenchy
who had recovered the sinking Hubble space telescope.
Direction Casablanca in 2021
Speaking of the future, these aviation “darons” also pass the baton to the young Franco-Moroccan pilot Ilhame Guechati, 28, who will be doing the raid just like them.
Every evening, the little band takes stock of the weather, anticipates the routes and flight conditions for the next day ... No engine check but a good night's charge for the cuckoos.
"Electric planes are currently only doing laps in flying clubs, this is the start of an exploratory mission", enthuses Hervé Bérardi.
In fact, we do not yet have much perspective on this technology, which has just left the factory (there are no more than ten 100% electric devices in French aerodromes).
The aces of low-carbon aviation will be able to compare their impressions, share the behavior of the machines and who can perhaps improve them.
Next year, for the 2021 edition, hopefully without Covid, the route will join Casablanca (Morocco).
One of the first mythical destinations of the airmail!
