Pipistrel cancelled plans to symbolically fly its Alpha Electro electric-powered training aircraft over the English Channel on Tuesday after Siemens, the supplier of the motor, issued a "demand not to fly over the water with their motor," said Pipistrel CEO Ivo Boscarol in a statement (PDF). Boscarol said his company's flight has been in the works since last October, with the company finally receiving approval from French authorities last week. Takeoff was planned for July 7 at 10 a.m. and shortly before that Siemens demanded the flight be stopped and seemed to suggest that using its motor to fly over water would violate its development contract with Pipistrel.
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