Both the CAFE Foundation’s Green Flight Challenge and the Experimental Aircraft Association’s AirVenture Electric Flight Prize are being postponed: CAFE’s for at least a few months and EAA’s until next year’s AirVenture.
Conceptual Green Flight Challenge aircraft
The CAFE Foundation’s announcement reads simply, “Circumstances have required that the Green Flight Challenge be postponed for at least 2 months. Its new dates will be posted here very soon.” The GFC was to have been held between July 10 and July 17 at Santa Rosa, California’s Charles M. Schulz field.
The EAA is holding off because of delays in ensuring that all entrants will be certified and properly registered for the competiton.
Their news item reads, in part, “‘As with any new, emerging technology, time is an essential element to ensure advancements are made effectively,’ said Tom Poberezny, EAA and AirVenture chairman. ‘After discussions with the prize candidates, it was evident most would not be able to meet the FAA requirement by AirVenture 2011. Let’s be clear that the era of electric flight is drawing closer every day, and it will be showcased at Oshkosh.'”
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Here is a video link to the Paris/Madrid Green Challenge. 10 Ultralights ran, with the winning Pipistrel burning 17 gallons total for the 820 mile trip.
http://www.youtube.com/user/BahamasAviator?feature=mhee#p/u/1/BnykUO3mROU
(Editor’s Note: The video is so good I made it the centerpiece of a blog entry. Note that 820 miles / 17 gallons = 48.23 miles per gallon, still very short of GFC performance.)