Key differences between car chargers and aircraft chargers

Jan 27

Reading time: 1 minute.

The driver of an electric vehicle brings the vehicle to the charger, in the same way they bring it to the gas pump. The charger remains in a fixed position, attached to a cable that is plugged into the vehicle.

We bring the charger to the aircraft

One of the key differences with aircraft charging is that the charger must be brought to the aircraft. This can be challenging because aircraft must maintain a safe distance from buildings. Additionally, unlike a vehicle, an aircraft obviously has wings, so the distance to be crossed from power socket to charging inlet can easily be 10m / 32ft for a small fixed-wing electric aircraft.

Negotiating wing span

In order to maintain a safe building distance, safely negotiate wing span, and connect to mains power and aircraft, our chargers are designed to be low, robust, and easily mobile.

Secured to casters on a base plate, our chargers move with ease, from hangar to aircraft, whilst crossing small obstacles such as hangar door rails. Think of the ease with which you move a suitcase on wheels.

More than just a cable

Our charger cables are designed with adequate length and additional features to safely bring the charger to the aircraft, without tensioning the cable, damaging the aircraft, or causing trip hazards. Considering the industrial and climatic elements an aircraft charger is exposed to, both the cable and the charger need to be heavy duty items able to withstand the elements.

Informed by expertise

This is knowledge acquired through experience. We have been iterating the design of aircraft chargers since 2016, charging and flying some of the world’s first electric aircraft from the same technology development lab where we design and build our chargers.

While our partners in the electric aviation industry are currently moving their aircraft from ground testing to flight testing, we are proud to provide a key element in their integrated system. Talk to us about how we can help solve all your charging system needs, from aircraft on-board components to ground infrastructure.