NASA'S Ten-Engine Electric Plane completes successful flight test: 9 Interesting facts

NASA is making headlines recently with their potentially game-changing emDrive propulsion system. The emDrive has gathered a lot of discussion, and a lot of controversy. But NASA has a lot more going on than innovative space travel designs, and one recent test flight showed that the thinkers at NASA are still working on innovative designs for flight systems that operate in Earth's atmosphere.

NASA has developed and successfully flight tested a battery-powered plane with 10 engines, GL-10 which can take off and land like a helicopter and fly efficiently like an aircraft.

The Greased Lightning or GL-10 prototype successfully transitioned from hover to wing-borne flight during several test flights.

Some interesting facts about Greased Lightning 10 (GL 10):

1. The hybrid diesel-electric tilt wing aircraft, Greased Lightning 10 (GL-10), is a remotely piloted, ten engine aircraft that can take off and land vertically, and then rotate its wings for forward flight

2. It has eight electric motors on the wings and two electric motors on the tail

3. It weighs a maximum of 62 pounds (28.1 kilograms) at take-off and has a 10-foot wingspan

4. The GL-10 type of system has been developed before in full size, in the form of a piloted aircraft like the V22 Osprey, but it's never been done before in a small, remotely-piloted aircraft

5. The GL-10 could be used for small package delivery or vertical take-off and landing, long endurance surveillance for agriculture, mapping and other applications

6. A scaled up version is also under development which is much larger than what is being tested now that would also make a great one-to-four person size personal air vehicle

7. The advantage of the GL-10, besides its versatile vertical take-off and landing ability, is its noise or lack of it

8. The aircraft is designed to complete several vertical take-offs and landings during its mission with a loiter endurance of 24 hours in the forward flight mode

9. The GL-10 is going to be the centrepiece of an exhibit showcasing some of NASA Langley's UAV research