Diamond DA36 E-Star

The Diamond DA36 E-Star is a two-seat motor glider that served as the world's first flying demonstrator of a serial hybrid electric drive. It was built as a joint project of Diamond Aircraft, Siemens, Austro Engine and EADS on the airframe of the Diamond HK36 Super Dimona. A 70 kW Siemens electric motor turns the propeller, with electricity supplied by a small Austro Engine Wankel engine driving a generator that runs at a constant low output, so the combustion engine acts only as a power source rather than driving the propeller itself. The partners claimed the concept could cut fuel consumption and emissions by 25 percent compared with the most efficient conventional aircraft drives. The prototype made its maiden flight on 8 June 2011 at Wiener Neustadt in Austria and was shown at the Paris Air Show at Le Bourget the same month.