Burt Rutan, in one of the seven talks he will be giving during EAA AirVenture this week, addressed the World Electric Symposium at the EAA museum on Friday, and said the "most impressive thing I have ever seen anywhere in aerospace" was a remotely controlled, dynamically soaring glider that he watched fly from the top of a mountain. He went on to talk about the electric aviation advances he would most like to see. First would be a self-launching sailplane. He also described an electric backup propulsion system that would consist of two pods that could be snapped on to the wings of an airplane and provide just enough power for an approach or a go-around, in the event the main engine fails. It could also boost power for high-density-altitude takeoffs. Such a device could save a lot of lives, Rutan said. But he added that the prospect he is most excited about is an idea inspired by remote-control model aircraft.
This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://www.avweb.com/air-shows-events/rutan-dreams-of-electric-flight