This appear to me to be a somewhat hastily-rewritten press release. (Such things happen in the fast-moving e-zine world. Cut Mark some slack.) Exactly how did owning Enstrom Helicopters benefit F. Lee Bailey’s law practice, more than simply owning ‘a’ helicopter?
It is remarkable how many folks see a rather astounding technological feat, and respond with a “yeah, but …” argument to diminish it. The AvWeb community skews older; do none of you remember that radical idea of the “all-electric home” of the fifties, and the scorn of those who couldn’t imaging heating and cooling the air, water, and food in it from a mere electrical line?
We have not yet seen any significant penetration of the fixed wing aircraft market by electric airplanes, but it’s coming. Given that it took 36 years after the Wright brothers for Sikorsky to develop a practical flying helicopter, I’d suggest that this electric R44 is being fast-tracked.