Dick Smith’s reward for the first person to fly an electric plane from England to Australia

Frustrated by the lack of progress in emissions-free air travel, Dick Smith is offering a valuable prize to the first person to fly an electric aircraft from England to Australia.

Frustrated by the lack of progress in emissions-free air travel, veteran aviator Dick Smith is offering a valuable trophy to the first person to fly an electric aircraft from England to Australia.

Mr Smith said he hoped his challenge, inspired by the Great Air Race of 1919, would accelerate the development of electric aircraft in Australia which had much to gain from the technology.

“Everyone talks so much about electrically powered aircraft and they’ve been around for over a decade and I would’ve thought by now we would’ve had an electrically powered aircraft that would’ve flown on that route but it hasn’t happened,” he said.

In an effort to motivate someone to take on the challenge, Mr Smith said he had commissioned a sculpture by artist Linda Klarfeld for $22,000 which he was putting up as the prize.

The $22,000 prize on offer for the first electric aircraft flight from England to Australia.

He was inspired by a similar gesture by the Australian government more than a century ago, which offered a 10,000 pound reward for the first flight from England to Darwin, in what was known as the Great Air Race.

Brothers Ross and Keith Smith collected the prize after completing the epic journey in 28 days, in a modified Vickers Vimy bomber.

Mr Smith said it could plausibly take longer in an electric aircraft, which require recharging every few hours.

“I don’t know if there is an electric aircraft with that capability at the moment, and the difficulty then would be finding airports with three-phase power to put a charge into at night,” he said.

“The alternative would be to stay a couple of days at each airport and just use a normal power point.”

He was hopeful a company such as engine manufacturer Rolls-Royce might rise to the challenge, or a “young enthusiast”.

“We might see a man or woman with one of these electrically powered aircraft they use in flying schools, just putting some extra batteries in,” said Mr Smith.

“One way or the other it’s going to be a great challenge, and it will show that you have electrically powered aircraft.”

Daher, Safran and Airbus have developed a hybrid electric propulsion aircraft known as Ecopulse. Picture: Ed Jones/AFP

Infinitus Aero co-founder Barrie Rogers has been in the electric aircraft business now for almost a decade, and said he thought Dick Smith’s challenge was “absolutely valid”.

In 2021, Mr Rogers set a new endurance record by flying an electric aircraft 1150km around South Australia with 18 stops, and is currently working on a new model, the E22 Spark, with “a lot further range”.

By that Mr Rogers meant “two to 2.5 hours, possibly three” with flight testing scheduled for the second half of this year.

“Batteries are going to essentially be the issue for a while yet,” Mr Rogers said.

“We’ve been lucky enough to obtain a battery source that’s far superior to what we’re currently using, but three times the density doesn’t mean three times the distance, it just means more capability.”

Despite the E22 Spark’s longer range, Mr Rogers said he did not think it would be the aircraft to meet Mr Smith’s challenge.

“We’ve still got a long way to go in this field, and airport infrastructure is going to have to catch up as well,” he said.

Originally published as Dick Smith’s reward for the first person to fly an electric plane from England to Australia