Sikorsky Project Firefly electric helicopter ready to soar to the skies

We’ve covered electric motorcycles as well as electric assisted bicycles in the past, but here’s a paradigm shift – the Project Firefly electric-powered helicopter from Sikorsky. Based on an S-300C light helicopter, it will come equipped with a 190-horsepower electric motor that replaces the standard piston-engine, while its lithium ion battery packs on either side of the cabin will keep the electric motor up and running, resulting in a much more efficient system. This could very well mark a new era of manned electric rotorcraft, although it will still take quite some time before the technology becomes stable and cheap enough to be used for the mainstream markets. Initial tests have shown that Project Firefly hit vast improvements in terms of efficiency, where the main rotor output is 76.3% efficient in the electric version compared to 25.5% for a Sikorsky 76D running two PW210S turboshaft engines on JetA fuel. Makes us wonder why can’t similar lithium ion battery technology be transferred over to smartphones to make them last longer than a day.

Filed in Green >Transportation..

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