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Military, News
Commander, test pilots evaluate new electric aircraft
EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. — After a quick taxi out to Duke Field’s runway, Brig. Gen. Jeffrey Geraghty spun up the 21-foot, electric aircraft’s 80-horsepower engine and zoomed forward. The Pipistrel Velis Electro quietly lifted off heading north as the sun dipped in the west around dusk April 22.
Brig. Gen. Jeffrey Geraghty, 96th Test Wing commander and instructor, Jim Mueller, Modern Technology Solutions Inc., prepare to taxi for an electric aircraft test flight April 22, 2024 at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida. Geraghty and other Eglin test pilots flew the 80-horsepower, 1000-pound Pipistrel Velis Electro over a three-week period to provide qualitative evaluations to AFWERX toward electric aircraft usage for the Air Force. (U.S. Air Force photo by Samuel King Jr.)
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