Flights in electric aircraft to raise awareness of low-carbon aviation

Available online :

In June, twenty-four students and staff from ISAE-SUPAERO were able to fly the Velis Electro, the world’s first certified 100% electric aircraft.

No engine noise - just the sound of the wind: that’s what you hear on board the first carbon-free aircraft!

From 10 to 14 June, twenty-four students and staff from ISAE-SUPAERO had the opportunity to discover electric flight. Instructors from the Institute’s Flight Operations Centre, located at the Toulouse-Lasbordes aerodrome, brought in a Velis Electro, belonging to the Albi flying club, to raise awareness of carbon-free aviation among students and teacher-researchers. This two-seater aircraft, produced by the Slovenian manufacturer Pipistrel Aircraft, is currently the only 100% electric aircraft certified in the world.

Photo du Velis Electro à l'aérodrome de Lasbordes | ISAE-SUPAERO

“The aim was to show future engineers what exists and works today, but also to give them a first-hand experience of the operational constraints associated with the machine’s current limited autonomy,” explains Stéphane Juaneda, head of the Lasbordes Air Operations Centre.

The operation was a great success. “It’s a good way of putting our engineering training into practice,” says Valentin, a student in his 1ʳᵉ year of the engineering program. “It allows us to see in practice the progress of carbon-free aviation, its limits and what we could add to it for tomorrow.”

Training on the challenges of decarbonization

The decarbonization of the aviation sector is a major focus of ISAE-SUPAERO’s training programs: students are trained in climate issues as part of the core curriculum for the engineering and Masters programs. On the research side, the Institute has also fully embraced the subject. Currently, 35% of the Institute’s internal and collaborative research topics are directly concerned with decarbonization or are linked to the transition aerospace industry.

Private pilot training at ISAE-SUPAERO

ISAE-SUPAERO is currently the only Institute offering its students (Engineering and Masters programs) the opportunity to learn to fly light aircraft. Every year, 35 students prepare for the Private Pilot’s Licence (PPL) with instructors from the Institute’s Flight Operations Centre, located at the Toulouse-Lasbordes aerodrome. This year, a lesson onboard an electric aircraft was included in the training.

Our news Academic programs

For full functionality of this site it is necessary to enable JavaScript. Here are the instructions how to enable JavaScript in your web browser.
Choose an RSS feed
The entire RSS feed
RSS Feed by theme
Campus Academic programs Institute International Diversity program Research Companies Sustainable Development Innovation DEOS Alumni Doctorat DCAS Ingénieur DMSM Mastère Spécialisé DISC LACS Apprentissage Evénement DAEP