The plane had been due to be the first all-electric craft to fly across the Channel, but another French pilot beat Airbus to it on Thursday night.
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Duval told The AP that his successful flight was a “relief” and an “important moment” after years of fine-tuning the plane and flying it over land.
Airbus will attempt a milestone in the history of modern aviation by making the first 42-mile cross-Channel flight in an aircraft powered by electricity.
‘The most hard part was during the climb because we had the safety part of the flight.
The twin-engine plane – whose batteries enable it to stay airborne for up to 50 minutes – flew from Kent to Calais in around 40 minutes.
The choice of flight path was not coincidental: In 1909, French pilot Louis Bleriot was the first person to fly a plane across the English Channel.
This entry on the Airbus site concerning the E-Fan demonstrator flight makes an interesting comparison to the report about the Cri cri (French for cricket) flight. Airbus and the French Direction of Civil Aviation worked together to create a test flight program for the jets.
The two-seat E-Fan has a 31ft wing-span, is two metres in height, with a total engine power of 60 kiloWatt and it operates on a 120-cell lithium polymer battery system. “But today, following rules and obtaining certifications is of crucial importance for the future of safe, reliable and certifiable electric flight”, explains Jean Botti, Airbus Group Chief Technical Officer.
Slovenian company Pipistrel was also hoping to send its electric plane across the Channel this week.
But Airbus, who has so far spent more than £14million developing its own technology, said Mr Duval’s journey “would not count” because he is believed to have set off from another plane.
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He compared this week’s flights to those of Bleriot 106 years ago, saying “the Channel, in aviation, has a special place”.
