The ElectricAir plane is on approach before landing at Wellington Airport in Wellington, New Zealand, Monday, Nov. 1, 2021. Seeking to highlight the potential for green aviation as a pivotal climate change conference opened in Glasgow, New Zealand pilot Gary Freedman made the first-ever flight over Cook Strait in an electric plane. (Mark Mitchell/New Zealand Herald via AP)
By Nick Perry
As he made history by becoming the first person to fly across New Zealand's Cook Strait in an electric plane, Gary Freedman thought it only fitting that the first thing he saw when approaching the Wellington coastline was the rotating blade of a wind turbine producing renewable energy.
Freedman's 40-minute solo flight in the small two-seater came 101 years after the first person flew a conventional aircraft over the body of water that separates the South Pacific nation's two main islands.
Monday's flight was aimed at drawing attention to the possibilities of greener flying and timed to coincide with the opening of a pivotal U.N. climate summit in Glasgow, Scotland.
Wellington International Airport officials believe it may be the longest distance flown in an electric plane across any body of water.
“It's a very exciting day for the airport. A world-record-setting day," said spokesperson Jenna Raeburn.
Freedman said the day began badly with pouring rain at his departure point near the town of Blenheim. After delaying the flight for 15 minutes, the weather cleared just enough for takeoff and soon improved to sunny conditions over the ocean.
Freedman said he was ecstatic when he landed, and the technology worked better than he'd hoped.
“We still had 40% left in the battery,” he said. “We could have almost flown back again.”
Freedman, 49, who founded the company ElectricAir, said he's long been passionate about the environment and the idea came as he thought about the incongruity of driving an electric car and flying a gas-powered plane.
He took a trip to Slovenia to buy a Pipistrel Alpha Electro plane, and then jumped through various hoops with New Zealand aviation regulators to get the plane cleared.
It weighs less than 400 kilograms (880 pounds) and is much quieter than a traditional aircraft. For the 78 kilometer (48 mile) trip, Freedman flew it at just 1,000 feet (305 meters) above sea level and at the relatively slow speed of 130 kilometers per hour (81 mph) in order to preserve its charge.
Freedman said it takes about one hour to fully charge the plane. The maximum flight time is also about an hour, and he mainly uses it for pilot training.
Wellington International Airport is preparing for regular short-hop flights of new 12-seater electric planes that will begin in about five years' time, said Raeburn, the airport spokeswoman.
She said electric technology is not yet advanced enough to power large passenger planes, but biofuels and hydrogen will likely provide greener alternatives in the future.
Tattoo artist Katrina "Kat Tat" Jackson, famous for starring in the VH1 hit series "Black Ink Crew: Chicago," is also the first Black woman to own a tattoo shop in Beverly Hills. She joined Cheddar News to discuss her trailblazing work, the stigma BIPOC tattoo artists face in the industry, and the way the space has changed for artists of color since her start. "In the beginning, I remember walking into a tattoo shop just like, hey, I wanna learn, I wanna be a tattoo artist and kind of just being laughed at, not taken seriously," she said. "Even with the tattoo conventions, a lot of African American tattoo artists were almost scared to go to conventions because it's not a welcoming environment."
Jack Miller, Head of Trading at Baird, joined Closing Bell to break down how the Securities and Exchange Commission's proposals would change the landscape for individual investors, as they face stiff opposition from brokerages like Robinhood.
Robotics automation technology company Symbotic made its market debut on the Nasdaq via a SPAC merger with SVF Investment Corp. 3, a special purpose acquisition company sponsored by an affiliate of SoftBank Investment Advisers. Symbotic rang the Opening Bell at the Nasdaq to celebrate the occasion this morning. Its debut on Wall Street comes amid an urgent need for logistics solutions, as it aims to reimagine supply chains with its A.I.-powered robotic and software platform. Tom Earnst, CFO of Symbotic, and Vikas Parekh, managing partner at Softbank Investment Advisors, join Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
The critically acclaimed film "The Northman" is now available on Peacock, DVD, and Blue Ray, and director Robert Eggers joined Cheddar News to discuss the process of getting everything right about his brutal drama. “Me and my collaborators were working with some of the finest Viking historians and archaeologists in the field when we were making this," he said. "So the material, culture, and the spiritual world is you know, the best attempt at historical accuracy."
Catching you up on today's top entertainment stories with Julia Garner of "Inventing Anna" has been considered as a front runner for the upcoming Madonna biopic, a "Joker" sequel has been confirmed, and Matthew McConaughey visited the White House to speak on the Uvalde, Texas, school shooting, and more.
Meta announced its plans to join the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. This is leaving businesses and customers wondering what the tech giant has in store for the event. Nicola Mendelsohn, the vice president of the global business group at Meta, joined Cheddar News to preview what the tech giant will discuss at this year's festival. "We're going to be showcasing more about reels. We're going to be talking about our commerce solutions, are messaging solutions, and of course, the method of us speaking of new ways to kind of connect with customers," she said.
On today's episode of On The Job: Cheddar gets a look at how the salon and beauty industry has pivoted throughout the pandemic; Mark Brim, President of Aquent's Recruiting Division Vitamin T, breaks down how remote work has transformed hiring and recruiting process across the board;
Julie Bauke, President & Chief Career Strategist at The Bauke Group, breaks down why companies are being 'ghosted' by new hires, and what repercussions can come from this.
