MGM COMPRO, a Czechoslovakian motor and electronics supplier, announced that they had participated in finally making the Phoenix motorglider an electric machine. Jim Lee and co-pilot Jeff Shingleton had originally intended to fly the airplane at the Green Flight Challenge three years ago, but contented themselves with competing in the Rotax-powered machine and “only” winning third place in the event. Their competing did elicit a great deal of interest in the machine, though. MGM says, “We are very glad that we can present you a very successful project, [the] U-15 Phoenix of the Czech entrepreneur Martin Stepanek. MGM COMPRO plays a decisive role in a development of industrial controllers for this fully electric aircraft. As described in the blog three years ago, the electric PhoEnix is a “nice airplane,” and one that would take many willing pilots on many cross-country jaunts. Martin originally planned to use a Czech industrial motor for power, but ended up developing his own powerplant that …
Recycling Tires for Battery Anodes
Old tires are hard to get rid of, and left in small mountains in salvage yards, can self-incinerate, causing massive clouds of dangerous smoke and lakes of toxic goo. Fires can last for months, virtually unassailable by fire fighters. Some still structurally sound tires can be re-treaded and gain a new life on the road. Others, well past their usable life, are shredded and added to an asphalt mix to have a new life as the road. They might also end up lithium-ion batteries. According to Oak Ridge National Laboratory, “Recycled tires could see new life in lithium-ion batteries that provide power to plug-in electric vehicles and store energy produced by wind and solar, say researchers. By modifying the microstructural characteristics of carbon black, a substance recovered from discarded tires, a team is developing a better anode for lithium-ion batteries.” A team led by Parans Paranthaman and Amit Naskar is developing a better anode, the negatively-charged electrode, for lithium-ion batteries. …
What Did You Do Over the Labor Day Weekend?
KillaJoule is the world’s fastest electric motorcycle with a top speed of 241 mph (388 km/h) so far. About 80 percent of this sleek bullet is the design and work product of co-owner and driver Eva Håkansson, who has graced the stage at two Electric Aircraft Symposiums, the last appearance with her husband and crew chief, Bill Dube’. Their web site explains, “KillaJoule is really eco-activism in disguise. The only purpose of this 19 foot, 400 horsepower, sleek, sexy motorcycle is to show that eco-friendly doesn’t mean slow and boring.” Over the Labor Day weekend, Eva lowered her petite frame (she’s about five feet tall) into the cockpit of her speedy sidecar to break her old world record and set a new mark 25 miles per hour faster than anyone else has gone before in or on a motorcycle. The sidecar definition comes from the outrigger wheel and platform that thankfully, doesn’t require a rider for these speed attempts. The …
EAS VIII: Avetik Haryutunyan and Lithium Storage Capacity in Large Nanostructures
Although “large nanostructures” may sound like the same kind of oxymoron as “jumbo shrimp,” such things are relative even at the smallest of scales. Dr. Avetik Haryutunyan, Chief Scientist in the Materials Science Division of Honda Motors in Columbus, Ohio, shared a small part of the knowledge contained in his numerous publications and patents with the audience at the eighth annual Electric Aircraft Symposium last April. He reviewed experimental approaches to creating high lithium storage in carbon nanostructures, with the ideal of providing scientists and commercial developers usable materials and products. He reviewed the many experimental approaches to enhancing energy storage with lithium, attempting to achieve reproducibility and irreversibility, two touchstones of scientific validation. Dr. Haryutunyan explained that with 14 Terawatts of energy consumption in the United States today and an anticipated requirement for 30 to 60 terawatts by 2050, we would have to build one or two nuclear plants every day for the next several decades to meet the …
Sakti 3 Announces Significant Battery Breakthrough
Dr. Ann Marie Sastry, CEO of Sakti3, Inc. of Ann Arbor, Michigan, has been quietly working on a high-energy-density battery that would use mass production platforms with “fully scalable equipment” that would take us to the next level of development. Sakti announced this week that its new battery can store over 1,100 Watt hours per liter (Wh/l) in volumetric energy density, about two to four times that for conventional cells. Scientific American reports 1,143 Wh/l. According to Sakti’s release, “This translates to more than double the usage time in a wearable device like a smartwatch, from 3.5 hours to more than 9 hours. It also translates to almost double the range in an EV like the Tesla Model S, from 265 miles to 480 miles.” Besides the performance improvement, Sakti claims to be able to produce the new, solid-state battery that would rely on a “full scale plant layout to avoid any high cost materials, equipment or processes.” Professor Wei …
WATTsUP at Pipistrel
No, that’s a statement and not a question. Taja Boscarol of Pipistrel sent the following announcement this morning. WATTsUP, their new two-seat electric trainer took its maiden flight on August 8th. As part of its 25th anniversary celebrations, Pipistrel will display the airplane at the Salon de Blois airshow, France, on 30-31 August 2014. This is the third announcement of an electric trainer by a major aircraft manufacturer, counting Airbus with its anticipated e-Fan developments and American Electric Aircraft Corporation (AEAC) with its Sun Flyer. We could count four with Adventure Aircraft’s EMG-6 under development in California for the ultralight market. This would mark a potentially historic turnaround for General Aviation, with promised operating costs significantly lower than for internal-combustion powered machines, and by inference, lower rental costs for student pilots. One of the most exciting parts of the announcement – the price: “Pipistrel expects to bring the final product to the market in 2015 with a target price below …
Electroflight, Williams to Field F1 Electric Air Racer
The StroudLife headline reads, “Williams F1 boffins link-up with Nympsfield world record electric plane bid.” A boffin, in English parlance, is “a person engaged in scientific or technical research,” or “a person with knowledge or a skill considered to be complex, arcane, and difficult.” Two years ago, the Blog reported on the TEACO Bat, a Formula 1 race plane to be powered by batteries and set to take on the world speed record for electric airplanes. Since then, the company has changed its name to Electroflight, partly because Internet inquiries often sent inquirers to TESCO, a grocery retail company. There should be less confusion now. The Stroud, UK newspaper reported, “Electroflight is linking up with Williams Advanced Engineering to build an electrically-powered aeroplane capable of more than 300 mph. “The ‘current’ speed record for electrically-powered flight stands at 220 mph but the tie up means they are aiming high. “Williams Advanced Engineering is the technology and engineering services business of the Williams group …
AEAC Debuts Sun Flyer at AirVenture 2014
Calin Cologan and George Bye staged a joint press event on the Sunday evening before AirVenture started. Held in the Redbird Tent on Wittman Field, it drew hundreds who saw the Redbird flight simulators and a Diesel-powered Cessna, but were stopped short by the yellow and blue Sun Flyer, a single-seat proof-of-concept version of what will soon be a two-seat battery/solar training aircraft. Forming a new firm based on the strengths of PC-Aero in Germany, and Bye Aerospace and Redbird Flight Simulators in America, they promise an electric training aircraft for the near future. Unlike the tandem two-seaters PC-Aero is developing in Germany, American Electric Aircraft Corporation will produce a side-by-side craft, often preferred for communication between instructor and student. In this Da Vinci Institute presentation, George Bye discusses the keys to performance for his aircraft, which include clean aerodynamics, high efficiency, a light carbon structure, and solar energy. Nest will come a “big performance step – endurance” – and possible perpetual flight …
Ring Around the Tail Boom
Call it Kismet, but three aircraft builders in wide-spread locations have recently announced similar approaches to putting a pusher propeller on the tail boom of three different ultralight sailplanes. Each enjoys the benefits of mounting a propeller on a rear portion of a pod-and-boom fuselage: streamlining the folded propeller into the wake of fuselage/wing junction, enabling use of a large propeller, and turning the prop slowly to get the greatest efficiency from a small motor. Moyes Tempest from Down Under “Bodex,” a pilot in Brisbane, Australia write, “A mate and I managed to acquire two old Moyes Tempests last year. Although they fly well for what they are, we wanted to see if it could be converted to electric in the hope of getting a self-launch from it. “Originally the idea was going to mount the motor behind the fuselage under the boom, but ground clearance was a problem. Then we thought nose mounting, ground clearance again…even with a dolly …
EAS VIII: Why Don’t We See More Electric Seaplanes?
Aaron Singer, owner and operator of Seaplane Adventures, San Francisco with his wife Tiffany, gave an excellent assessment of why we don’t see more electric seaplanes in the mix of products coming into play. Pointing out that most water-borne efforts so far have been ultralights, such as Dale Kramer’s e-Lazair amphibian, he gave examples of the energy necessary to lift off from water and the how that plays in the daily use of a DeHavilland Beaver and Cessna 172 in which his team flies tourists around the Bay Area. Their web site explains their mission. “The Singers bought San Francisco Seaplane Tours in January of this year and have rebranded the company as Seaplane Adventures and revamped the operation with a new logo, new energy and 100% passion for flying seaplanes in the Bay Area. We are in the Happy Business – it’s our job to bring to you a safe, exhilarating, beautiful, one-of-a-kind experience flying in a seaplane over …