"The aircraft will fly about 90 minutes on a full charge," at a cost of about one dollar. "Cruising speed is about 86 knots. The price is expected to be about $163,000."

Flyhound wrote:I don't see an electric bush plane any time soon, but electric motor gliders are already a reality. I think one of those may actually be in my future. One I get all of the airplane camping out of my system, I can see a time when I just want a 1-2 hour flying fix close to my home base. A motor glider would fit that bill perfectly. With a self launching motor glider, the batteries aren't pressed into continuous service, so current technology works pretty well. No miracle breakthrough in energy storage is needed for these modest flyers.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wmnczog46KE

Once a Joke, Battery-Powered Airplanes Are Nearing Reality.

Two things have changed. The amount of energy that batteries can store is steadily improving, and this looks likely to continue as they’re developed for use in portable electronics and electric vehicles, Bradley says. Meanwhile, the technologies needed to integrate batteries and electric motors with conventional engines are getting smaller, lighter, and more efficient. Siemens demonstrated an earlier version of its hybrid airplane in 2011, but it was too heavy to be practical. For the new plane, Siemens decreased the weight of the electric motor, power electronics, and gears by 100 kilograms to bring its cargo and passenger capacity up to the level of similarly sized small planes.

In airplanes, a hybrid electric design improves efficiency mainly by making it possible to use a relatively small gas-powered engine designed to run at its most efficient at cruising speeds. The battery and electric motor provide the extra power needed for takeoff and ascent. The batteries also make it possible to recover energy during descent much the way hybrid cars capture energy during braking (propellers spin a generator). And, as batteries improve, they will provide more and more of the energy on board.

Electric motors confer other advantages. They can be mounted in unusual places on an airplane, which can be used to improve aerodynamics. They can also be steered: angled upward, for example, during takeoff to get a plane off the ground faster. In flight, the motor could be pointed left or right to steer the plane, eliminating the need for a rudder. These design changes, together with the efficiency of the hybrid propulsion, could help decrease fuel consumption by half, he says (see “‘Hybrid Wing’ Uses Half the Fuel of a Standard Airplane”).

Fly hound, I've been watching that Archeopteryx for several years now. Seems like a really neat glider, with lots of options for launching. That electric self-launch pack pushes the price (today's exchange rate for Swiss Francs) at just over $113,000. Good time to be buying Francs and Euros...!!

Randy Schlitter from RANS has written a lot about his interest in an electric motor glider, so something may come from his prolific design table before I pull the trigger on my next flying toy. It is an interesting category to watch.