After a push start, the plane flew a distance of 391 metres. See a second picture below. (Reuters/Yuriko Nakao) 160 AA batteries were used in serial to power the aircraft (Reuters/Yuriko Nakao)
An airplane powered by just 160 AA batteries has been flown by Japanese scientists – the first time dry-cell batteries have powered a crewed flight.
After a push start, the propeller-powered plane flew for 59 seconds at an altitude of 5.2 metres on Sunday. It travelled a total distance of 391 metres through the air.
The glider-like plane has curved wings with a total span of 31 metres. It weighs just 54 kilograms and was developed jointly by researchers at Tokyo Institute of Technology and Matsushita Electrical Industrial.
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For its maiden flight, the plane was piloted by Tomohiro Kamiya of the Tokyo Institute of Technology, who weighs 61 kilograms. “I was careful at take-off as it was very difficult,” Kamiya said after landing. “I did not expect it to take off so beautifully.”
Sunday’s test flight was conducted in the presence of officials from the Japan Aeronautic Association. “This was officially the world’s first manned flight powered by dry-cell batteries,” said Kazuhiko Zushi of Matsushita Electrical Industrial, which produced the batteries. In 2004, the company demonstrated a novel three-wheeled vehicle powered by two AA batteries.
