The concept of distributed power—thrust produced not from a single point on an airframe—began with the Wrights and their extremely light twin. When exploring the feasibility of utilizing electric motors—which tend to be lower output, lighter, and cooler in operation than their fossil-burning brethren—distributing the lift across the airframe from several points makes sense.
From a literal standpoint, many examples of this concept jostled for attention on the static display and in the halls at the Paris Air Show at Le Bourget this year. But the distributed power demonstrated by CORAC-supported collaboration between major aerospace OEMs Daher, Safran, and Airbus on the EcoPulse project has also emerged as a theme in the drive toward a market-ready airplane.
