A few days ago, China's first gasoline-electric hybrid general-purpose aircraft developed by introduction successfully flew.

On March 11, 2022, at Zhuzhou Lusong General Airport, China's first gasoline-electric hybrid general-purpose aircraft flew around the airport and stopped on the runway. Opening the hatch, test pilot Chen Shi said excitedly: "Smooth, quiet, fast response, fast acceleration, and plenty of power."

"In order to achieve rapid emission reduction in the aviation industry, the existing fuel power technology cannot meet the requirements." Zhou Zhidong, a research and development officer of the introduction company, said that there are dozens of research and development projects in this field around the world, but not many have been successful. Two years ago, AVIC 608, together with introduction, AVIC 331 Factory, Xiangtan University and other institutions, based on the introduction SA60L light sports aircraft platform, broke through the key technology of the hybrid electric propulsion system of the series structure, and successfully developed the first domestic aviation hybrid electric propulsion system. .

The gasoline-electric hybrid general-purpose aircraft that has been flown has the same appearance as the introduction SA60L light sports aircraft, but the "heart" is changed to an aviation hybrid electric propulsion system. The system uses the gas turbine engine to drive the generator to generate electricity, and together with the energy storage system, provides electricity for the electric motor, and then the electric motor drives the propeller to provide power for the aircraft. Tests show that, compared with traditional power, the system has the advantages of flexible layout, high reliability, and high safety, and can reduce fuel consumption by 50% to 70% and nitrogen oxide emissions by 80%.

This test flight is the first domestic flight test of a gasoline-electric hybrid electric manned aircraft. Zhou Zhidong said that the test results show that the system can also be applied to aircraft platforms such as vertical take-off and landing urban commuter aircraft and regional aircraft, and can also be extended to the fields of ship and vehicle propulsion, with very broad prospects. Editor / Zhao E