A French pilot took the quest for green air travel another step forward with a successful, 48-minute flight of the Electra, a single-seater, wood-and-fabric aircraft. The light plane managed to traverse 30 miles in that amount of time and has been hailed as a success for battery-powered aviation and deemed airworthy by the APAME group, which funds green air travel.

Obviously, the technology isn't ready to power big jets, though that's still eventually the goal. For the time being, smaller craft, such as stunt planes and racers, may enjoy ditching their reliance on fossil fuels and going electric.

Times Online, via Spluch