MIT class project becomes $850M plan for 8-motor hybrid aircraft factory

Electra takes a different approach to hybrid aviation. Instead of a traditional engine operating the propellers, the aircraft has a gas-powered generator in the nose. (Image: MIT News)A class project at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 2017 studied a new type of aircraft; now, it has ballooned into a $850 million Ohio factory plan for an 8-motor hybrid plane that can take off from an area the size of a soccer field. According to MIT Campus News report, a classroom experiment at MIT could soon change how people view air travel over short distances. As reported, a hybrid aircraft capable of operating without conventional runways is migrating from the university workshop to an intended $850 million manufacturing facility in Ohio, with the potential to enable quieter, faster