Pie Aeronefs UR-1: V-tailed, Battery-winged Racer

Dean Sigler Batteries, Electric Powerplants, Sustainable Aviation Leave a Comment

Pie Aeronefs, a small team of dedicated builders in Switzerland is putting the finishing touches on the UR-1, a V-tailed, battery-winged electric racer expected to fly in next Air Race E series. “Marc Umbricht’s vision is to create a 4-seater general aviation electric aircraft that shall equal or surpass the performances of standard piston engine aeroplanes. This new generation aircraft will bring a viable and sustainable alternative on the general aviation market.” To achieve this ultimate goal, the Pie Aeronefs team has a series of iterative designs to explore, starting with a single-seat eRacer.  The small aircraft development firm in La Sarraz, Switzerland is on track to complete the airframe of its UR-1 Air Race E machine soon. 12 Battery Packs Innovative in the extreme, the small craft will store 12 in-series 10-kilogram (22-pound) battery packs in its wings.  Each 55-Volt pack stores 1.15 kilowatt hours of electricity. The 13-member team chose lithium-ion polymer cells for their battery packs because …

Air Race E: Three Classes, 18 Teams

Dean Sigler Announcements, Batteries, Electric Powerplants, Sustainable Aviation Leave a Comment

Air Race E is gathering momentum, now comprising two airplane classes and one eVTOL (electric Vertical Take Off and Landing aircraft) class.  Seven teams are officially entered and 11 “registered and confidential.”  Teams hail from the United States, Great Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Spain, The Netherlands, Switzerland, Malaysia, Ukraine, and the Czech Republic.  This worldwide interest stems from a Dubai-based headquarters and intellectual centers in Europe, America and the Far East. Your editor knows, for instance, that Richard Glassock is working at the University of Nottingham on a Cassutt racer intended for e-racing. That is likely just one of two British teams and one of several fielding modified cassutts, a well-proven design with a fifty-year history. A Pair of Introductions Two videos highlight the excitement of the proposed events, but spare the more technical aspects of the sport.  They’re selling the matches to prospective spectators. In this longer video, Jeff Zaltman talks about the technical challenges and provides some insight …

Air Race E Leaps Forward with Eight Teams

Dean Sigler Announcements, Batteries, Electric Powerplants, Sustainable Aviation 2 Comments

The public got a glimpse of Air Race E at this year’s Dubai Air Show.  Jeff Zaltman, CEO of Air Race E and Sandra Bour-Schaeffer, head of XO Airbus Demonstrators, pulled the wraps on Team Condor’s converted Cassutt racer – one of eight teams entering the fray.   Race E is an update of the classic small aircraft races held following World War II, and many of the airplanes in the upcoming events will be re-motored and redesigned versions of these craft.  Formula 1 racing has not changed much since its 1947 inception. Most air small air racers relied on the Continental C-85 engine, mildly uprated and turning faster than it did in Aeronca Champions or Piper Cubs.  Formula E is the first major change and new technology in the field in over 70 years. With the advent of Air Race E, designers are encouraged to create new machines and rethink the means of propulsion.  At least eight organizations are …

Richard Glassock, Jeff Zaltman and Air Race E

Dean Sigler Batteries, Electric Aircraft Components, Electric Powerplants, Hybrid Aircraft, Sustainable Aviation Leave a Comment

Richard Glassock and Beacons of Excellence Richard Glassock is an Australian scholar and designer currently living in Nottingham, England, working as a Professor at the University of Nottingnam.  One if the founding lights in the Outback Joe competions, in which teams launched autonomuous aircraft into remote parts of Australia to find the eponymous character and deliver aid, he was on the forefront of things to come. Later, he designed a twin-motored sailplane to take parties of six or eight to cloudbase, a perfect outing for kid’s parties or adult’s anniversary celebrations.  He was part of a team that designed a modern hybrid parachute jump plane, optimized for rapid turnarounds.  His motorcycle range extender would enable a pilot to ride to the airport in style, and when connected to an electric or hybrid aircraft, provide long range – and at the end of the flight – a ride home. Not only a professor, Richard is project lead for this Beacon of …

The Coming Golden Age of Electric Air Races?

Dean Sigler Batteries, Electric Powerplants, Hybrid Aircraft, Hydrogen Fuel, Sustainable Aviation 1 Comment

An Electric Great Air Race 100 years ago, a great air race – “The Great Air Race” – in fact, was held with competitors flying from Great Britain to the Northern Territories of Australia.  Crews had 30 days to make the trip, and considering the reliability of engines at that time and the primitive nature of aerial navigation, very little time to relax. Of the six teams that entered, only two made it, three crashing (two fatally) and a fourth team being imprisoned in Yugoslavia as suspected Bolsheviks.  Only two teams finished, and only one received the 10,000 Pound Sterling prize (about 544,577 pounds today – over $775,000), enough to cause the six crews to accept the high risk  involved. The winning flight, in a Vickers Vimy WWI bomber, inspired the founders of Qantas to begin regular airline service in the country, with that company, nearly a century later, able to offer transit from Los Angeles to Sydney for under …