Electric racer Chip Yates plans to re-make history, by re-tracing Charles Lindbergh鈥檚 1927 trans-Atlantic flight鈥. Yates, who set an unofficial electric motorcycle racing record for speed (190.6 mph) in 2011, is currently constructing the craft, which he predicts will have a nearly 100-foot wingspan.
The plane will be powered by an external battery pack, which will be periodically switched out during flight. Unlike the famed solar plane, the Solar impulse, whose average speed is about 31 mph, Yates hopes his electric plane will achieve speeds of nearly 100 mph. 鈥淔lying electrically, really slow, doesn鈥檛 provide humanity anything,鈥 Yates told .
Yates is 42 and only acquired his pilots license a year ago. At the plane鈥檚 current speed, the flight will take him a little over 36 hours.