The OE-ACW, the first electric aircraft to be registered in Austria, took off from the Bad Vöslau airfield in Lower Austria. The two-seater is operated by the Watschinger flying school. The electricity required to operate the electric drive comes from the photovoltaic system on the hangar roof and the electric motor is extremely quiet. The Watschinger flying school uses the electric aircraft as part of its pilot training for so-called “circuit training”, where take-offs and landings are practiced and only short circuits are completed over the area. The presentation of the electric aircraft was held in the presence of Austro-Control Managing Director Philipp Piper, flying school director Georg Watschinger and Vienna Airport Board Member Günther Ofner. “At Vienna Airport, we don’t just talk about climate protection strategies, we also implement them. Together with the project operator and the approving authority, we have succeeded in achieving real benefits for the population and the climate. This makes this project a prime example of how effective climate protection works: through the use of new technologies, solution-oriented decisions and the creation of framework conditions that promote innovation,” says Vienna Airport CEO Günther Ofner. The two-seater “Velis Electro” electric aircraft from the Slovenian manufacturer Pipistrel is used: prospective pilots use it to practice take-offs and landings and complete short sightseeing flights, so-called “circuits” over the airfield area. The aircraft’s extremely quiet electric motor means that there is no noise pollution for the residential areas below and there are no CO2 emissions either: the motor is purely electrical, and the electricity required for this comes from the photovoltaic system on the roof of the hangar building at the airfield. The possible flight time is around 50 minutes, which is absolutely sufficient for training purposes.