The High Road to Morocco

Dean Sigler Electric Powerplants, Sustainable Aviation Leave a Comment

The Solar Impulse project announced the takeoff of HB-SIA from its Swiss home field at Payerne  with André Borschberg at the controls this morning.  The 08:24AM (UTC +2) departure will lead to a full day’s flight, with Solar Impulse landing at Madrid Barajas Airport around 01:00AM (UTC+2) for a minimum 3-day technical stopover. Weather permitting, the first possible departure for Rabat, with Bertrand Piccard at the controls, will be Monday 28 May.  This will be his first major outing in the airplane, and a significant one, since he will cross the Mediterranean to Morocco, the first intercontinental flight by a solar-powered aircraft. The video from Mountain Radio included interviews with both Borschberg and Piccard, whose tastes in music are explored. As usual, the team has put together an excellent range of ways to follow the flight. There’s even an app for that. Solar Impulse explains, “During the Crossing Frontiers Flights, each flight can be tracked live on www.solarimpulse.com as well …

Kickstart Kicks John McGinnis to Announce New Goals

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A few minutes ago, John McGinnis, designer and ongoing builder of Synergy, released the following announcement.  It is based on the 385 supporters who have contributed 81 percent of the initial $65,000 goal to complete the first phase of construction on this envelope-exploding aircraft. “We are thrilled to report that Synergy is on track to become the first crowdfunded aircraft of the Internet era. Thank you to all contributors, large and small. You have really gotten behind us and the power of your enthusiasm is both contagious and humbling. “What does this mean? Well, unless something goes terribly wrong (and it could, we’re not funded yet) it looks like there is support for us to complete this phase of our construction, getting the landing gear on and the engine powered up. “That’s not quite the same as finished. If we don’t raise our minimum, we get nothing, so deciding where our project goal should be was a big deal. Now …

Nano to Macro – Piezoelectrics Have Power

Dean Sigler Electric Powerplants, Sustainable Aviation 1 Comment

Two far-flung enterprises are using piezoelectric devices to generate answers to widely disparate questions. The first set of questions is intensely personal. “Can a heart implanted micro robot operate permanently? “Can cell phones and tiny robots implanted in the heart operate permanently without having their batteries charged? These provocative questions highlight a web page from KAIST, the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, which focuses on the Institute’s work with piezoelectric devices.  Such devices can tranform vibrations, pressure, and other mechanical forces into an electric current.  Older “hi-fi” systems used piezoelectric cartridges in their LP-playing tone arms to transduce the vibrations from a needle touching the record’s grooves into signals to the system’s amplifier. Dr. Zhong Lin Wang explains, “Our FAND (Flexible and Nano-bio-energy Device Lab) group has developed new forms of highly efficient flexible nanogenerator technology using freely bendable piezoelectric ceramic thin film nano-materials and nanocomposite materials that can convert the tiny movements of human body (such as …

Noise or Emissions – We Can Do Without Both

Dean Sigler Electric Powerplants, Sustainable Aviation 1 Comment

GreenAirOnline, a web report on mainly airline attempts to promote environmentally-friendly flying, has two not-unrelated stories in today’s edition. Noise abatement is a major issue for British airports, especially those in the southeast, according to the first story.  Kate Jennings, Head of Aviation Policy Implementation at the Department for Transport, says the government recognizes that it is a “particularly contentious issue.” Even though noise has been reduced for individual flights, flight frequency has increased and measured noise footprints don’t always match the perceived noise levels that drew public complaints, Ms. Jennings reported. “That’s why at an ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organizaton) and political level we need to keep the pressure on to identify ways of further reducing noise and there needs to be an intelligent debate on the trade-offs between emissions and noise,” she told the recent UK Airport Operators Association (AOA) Environment Conference in London. British airports have been practicing several approaches to cutting both emissions and noise, including …

Algae Biofuels Producers, NASA Combine Forces

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OriginOil and Algasol are two algae–to-oil producers who’ve joined forces to cultivate and harvest micro algae that can perhaps “reach a tipping point and compete with petroleum.” Algasol’s process perhaps most closely resembles that shown by NASA scientist Dr. Johnathan Trent, which he presented at the fourth annual Electric Aircraft Symposium.  His OMEGA, “Offshore Membrane Enclosure for Growing Algae” relies on water motion and sunlight to churn treated wastewater that otherwise would be literally dumped into the ocean into a refineable algae.  Waste CO2 can also be used to generate algae, another “two-fer” that would clean up the environment while providing a literally green fuel source. In their joint press release, the two firms explain, “Algasol’s floating bags or photobioreactors (PBRs) can operate in the ocean or in salt water ponds on land. Because they float, Algasol believes their PBRs achieve optimal light exposure with outstanding productivity results and avoid the high temperature and excess salinity often encountered in solar …

Kickstarter Kicks Off Synergy Fund-Raising Drive

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John McGinnis, designer and promoter of the Synergy aircraft, had a brief twinge of regret when Kickstarter, the crowd source funding site, turned down his project for inclusion in their site.  Luckily, the gloom was dispelled when friends and supporters prompted Kickstarter to change their mind.  A great deal of this was brought about by the eloquent efforts of Patrick Panzera of Contact Magazine, Howard Handelman, a friend and supporter of John’s, and Brian D. Wendt, Aeropunk.com blogger. John’s press release, issued today, spells out the importance of Kickstarter’s decision. “Kalispell, MT, May 16, 2012: “Since its unveiling last year, John McGinnis’ award-winning1 Synergy aircraft project has garnered a lot of critical attention for its advanced aerodynamics, but its sexy looks and prototype flyby videos certainly don’t hurt the pitch: major fuel savings and a modern passenger experience. “Looking something like a futuristic cross between a sailplane and a fighter jet, the boldly different five-seat aircraft promises a quieter, more comfortable …

Volta Volare’ at EAS VI

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Action at the sixth annual Electric Aircraft Symposium did not stop at the end of each day’s presentations, but carried into the evening hours on Friday, April 27.  Three theme dinners allowed additional speakers to present materials on motors, aerodynamics, or energy. Paul Peterson, the founder and CEO of Volta Volare’, introduced the dinner crowd to his Volta Volare’ GT4 high-performance, hybrid aircraft, which joins Pipistrel’s Pantera and John McGinnis’ Synergy in the realm of fast, roomy airplanes that will have operating costs far below those of similar traditional airplanes. When your editor saw news about Peterson’s creation in Popular Science, he asked Dr. Seeley if CAFE could invite him to the EAS, which received an immediate, positive response, and Peterson unveiled his airplane to an appreciative and knowledgeable audience. The GT4 is a four/five seat canard, currently flying and originally designed with a Continental TSIO550 engine in mind, but re-engineered from the firewall aft to house the hybrid EViation …

Living Up To a Standard

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Ron Gremban is an early developer of plug-in electric hybrid (PHEV) automobiles, having helped convert hundreds of Toyota Priuses to extend their electric-only range and make them even more practical real-world automobiles. His 2008 writing on the differences between the Prius and Chevrolet’s Volt shows an ability to consider the actual physics and engineering involved rather than allowing the heat of the debate to obscure the realities. Backing from Dr. Andrew Frank of UC Davis gives further credibility to Gremban’s views. Given his demonstrated abilities and his dispassionate vision, it’s no surprise that Gremban would look at projected electric flight in ways that haven’t yet occurred to its most ardent promoters. On April 27, at the Friday evening Motors theme dinner, as part of the Electric Aircraft Symposium hosted by the CAFE Foundation, he shared some of his concerns about potential safety concerns for electrified flight. For instance, how do pilots and know that an electrically-powered propeller is “on” or activated …

Holding All the (Official) Records

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If you go to the Federation Aeronautique Internationale web site, you’ll find only three officially ratified ratified records for Sub-Class RAL1E, Electric-powered Microlights with moveable aerodynamic controls.  They all belong to Jean Luc Soullier and Luxembourg Spécial Aerotechnics – L.S.A., assisted by fellow members Martin Marschner von Helmreich, Fabrice Tummers and Roman Marcinowski, flying their Colomban MC-30 Luciole (Firefly).  The F. A. I. made their February 2 flight achievements official just a few weeks ago. This small group developed the current power system with Electravia, and campaigned the airplane at Sisteron, France for these initial records.  They plan on going higher, faster and farther, including a flight across a significant body of water. Jean Luc shared the following with your editor.  “My culture is facts, no more no less. As we equipped the aircraft [with a] full set of recorders, positive difference was easy to see between before and after setting wing deturbulators: 20% of gain[ed] energy at constant speed …

AVweb Talks to Dr. Seeley About EAS VI

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The sixth annual Electric Electric Aircraft Symposium, CAFE’s premier event, got a lot of press attention this year, including lead story status from AOPA and acknowledgement from Engadget and AVweb.  We’ll start with the one that’s most fun to listen to – a podcast from AVweb. Mary Grady of AVweb interviewed Dr. Brien Seeley, President of the CAFE Foundation, about the just completed Electric Aircraft Symposium at Santa Rosa, California, which drew participants from at least eight countries and 10 multi-national corporations.  With Federal Aviation Administration representation and a former Environmental Protection Agency head signed up to attend, the Symposium drew some high-level attention this year. Dr. Seeley was enthusiastic about the rapidly maturing technology and industry, with Tom Gunnarson from the FAA and Ronald Gremban of ForSites Corporation working toward standards and practices for electric aircraft.  When asked about the thought that FAA rules for small electric aircraft might be five to 10 years out, Dr. Seeley noted the …