Are electric airplanes actually a real thing?

World's first electric-plane aerotow with Siemens SPD260-powered Extra 330LE, © Jean-Marie UrlacherWith electrification spreading through many types of transport, one vehicle still remains largely absent in using electrons for propulsion: aircraft. Automakers have been building commercially viable electrified cars—in whole (electrics) or in part (hybrids)—for more than two decades now. Meanwhile, the aerospace industry has...