Aura Aero, Big, Small, and Electric

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

Aura Aero, a French firm in the Occitanie region, maker of big and small electric aircraft, espouses eco-responsibility goals striving to contribute to the objective of reducing emissions by 55 percent in 2035 and reaching carbon neutrality in 2050.  They aim to do this through reducing and eliminating carbon, choosing materials for their environmental consequences and lifecycles, and applying circular economy techniques for recycling. Aura proclaims, “We design our aircraft anticipating the impact of their use and their ability to be recycled. We take into account, from the start, the environmental impact that our aircraft will have throughout their lifecycle, in order to reduce it as much as possible.” The company has a reputation for the aerobatic two-seaters it hand makes, but is branching out into zero-emission alternatives and a larger, more complex machine.   Integrale E Aura’s Integrale line of two-seat, side-by-side aerobatic craft will be joined with the Integrale E.  The combustion-engine versions of the airplane are powered …

Electric Aircraft Sales Tell the Tale

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

Electric aircraft sales told the tale at this year’s Paris Air Show.  European and American firms sold, or received letters of intent for, hundreds of craft, especially of interest in the electric, hydrogen, and hybrid categories we’ll discuss here.  We will have subsequent entries on other craft of interest at the show and the commercial possibilities they encompass. Afrijet’s electric intentions French airframer Aura Aero signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for “multiple electric aircraft” at the Paris Air Show.  This came a day after a Philippine-based Asian aerospace firm signed a Letter of Intent for three electric aircraft with Aura Aero. The 19-passenger, eight motor, ecologically friendly aircraft has an all-up weight of 8.6 tons and a hybrid cruising speed of 250 knots true air speed (288 mph).  Its pressurized cabin can alternately carry 1,900 kilograms (4,180 pounds) of cargo with a total volume of 21.5 cubic meters (759.3 cubic feet).  Total operating costs will run only one-tenth of …

Two Wood Aircraft Leading to the Future

Dean Sigler Announcements, Batteries, Diesel Powerplants, Electric Powerplants, Hybrid Aircraft, Hydrogen Fuel, Sustainable Aviation Leave a Comment

Two French manufacturers are reverting to bois et toile (wood and fabric) for ultra-modern aircraft.  Both of their aircraft will be electrically powered, and both will use non-traditional approaches to construction.  In the meantime, both have fairly traditional demonstration models. The French have done wonders with wooden aircraft from the very beginning of aviation.  Santos Dumont built the petite Demoiselle with bamboo longerons, for instance, and Henri Mignet crafted his diminutive Pou du Ciel (flea of the sky, or flying flea) from available wood.  After World War Two, Messrs Joly and Delemontez fashioned a small single-seater, the Jodel D-9, from wood and ply and powered it with converted VW Kubelwagen engines, Jeep-like German vehicles which littered scrap yards and former battlefields.  Avions Mauboussin and Aura Aero use more modern power systems and vastly different approaches to bois and toile structures. Mauboussin Mauboussin goes back to prewar times with small aircraft that look as though they could have come from a …