LAA to Assist in Air Race E Development

Plans to launch the world’s first electric airplane race in 2020 received backing this week from the Light Aircraft Association (LAA)

The LAA, which supports and inspects the operation of over 2,600 light aircraft in the UK, has committed their support in developing the technical regulations and potential design oversight for the sport of electric airplane racing, which will be sanctioned by the Formula Air Racing Association (FARA) and its counter-part in France, APAF.
The LAA will offer its expertise in supporting the design and build process for the new formula airplanes that will be purely driven by electric power.
Steve Slater, CEO of the LAA commented; “Electric-powered aviation is going to become ever-more important in the future and many innovations that we will see years from now will trace their roots back to the Air Race E platform.
“It is important that we have a clearly defined safety-first approach to the rules and designs in electric air racing and we will work with Air Race E and the manufacturers and the pilots to make sure this innovative series runs smoothly.”
Jeff Zaltman, CEO of Air Race E, added; “This is a huge contribution in the development of Air Race E and we are grateful to the LAA for their continued support.
“They have been a fantastic supporter of formula one air racing in the past and long may that continue.
“Safety is paramount in everything that we do and the LAA will help us preserve safety standards and best practices as we forge new territory, working also with our corporate partners as well as the sports associations and the civil aviation authorities.
“Air Race E has secured all the key components to make this vision a reality: the aircraft, the race pilots, the engineers, the sports associations, a test centre in Europe and the racing heritage and expertise that is unrivalled in the world.
“Air Race E will become the unifying body that will drive the development and promotion of cleaner and faster electric aircraft.”
Air Racing was at the heart of this year’s LAA Rally, which took place in the UK from August 31 to September 1 at Sywell Aerodrome.  The event which attracted 5,000 fans and nearly 1,000 visiting aircraft had ‘Racers’ as its core theme and a display of racing aircraft dating from the 1920s to the latest Air Race 1 and Air Race E machines.
For more information regarding Air Race E go to www.airraceE.com