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NASA reveals electric plane with 18 motors

The plane is not yet ready for flight.

By Thor Benson
LEAPTech concept. Image by NASA.
LEAPTech concept. Image by NASA.

WASHINGTON, March 22 (UPI) -- NASA has revealed an electric-powered plane that has 18 engines that power individual propellers.

The plane has a 31-foot wingspan, and the engines are powered by lithium iron phosphate batteries. The plane will be able to travel about 200 mph, and it will be able to go as high as 12,000 feet. It will seat four passengers, and it will be able to fly about 450 miles at a time.

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The plane is not yet ready for flight, and tests will be done by mounting the wings to a truck that will be driven across a dry lakebed at Edwards Air Force base in California.

The project is called Leading Edge Asynchronous Propeller Technology project (LEAPTech), and it's been in development since 2014.

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