Electric seagliders Skimming Coastal Waters

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

REGENT seaglider Skimming the Waves WIGs are Wings in Ground Effect, a type of flight that keeps one just above the sea’s surface.  Simplified, when a wing is at an altitude less than its span, it operates in a ground effects cushion that adds lift.  According to backers of REGENT’s seaglider, such a craft can skim the waters in low-level flight while providing transport cheaper and quicker than water-borne alternatives. CNN reports, “…a Boston-based start-up backed by some of Silicon Valley’s most prominent investors wants to turn the sea lanes along the country’s east and west coasts into high-speed transit corridors.” The firm identifies their company name as an all-caps, proper noun acronym – Regional Electric Ground Effect Nautical Transport.  They denote the “seaglider” as a common noun describing the type of craft they are building.  It combines WIG technology with hydrofoils, and in the process gains an odd certification for an airplane.  Classified as a seagoing vessel, it will …

Navette Brettone Carries On

Dean Sigler Electric Powerplants, Sustainable Aviation Leave a Comment

The April, 2013 issue of Info.Pilote magazine, a French publication, features the air-show pairing of the electric Cri-Cri E-Cristaline, powered by two Electravia GMPE 104 motors and riding atop a Broussard – what the DeHavilland Beaver might look like if it had been built in France. The great photos by Jean-Marie Urlacher are supplemented by a dynamic video showing a typical airshow lofting and separation – something that happens quickly even in slow motion. Info.Pilote has an informative table comparing the Navette Brettone (Brittany Shuttle), named for the sponsoring ferry boat operation, with the Navette Spatial, our space shuttle/Boeing 747-100 combo. While the big Boeing spans 196 feet, the Broussard is a relatively petite 45 feet.  The Space Shuttle riding on the 747 is a substantial 78 feet, while the tiny Cri-Cri is a mere 16 feet across. The different airplanes’ relative weights are even more revealing.  The 708,400 pound Boeing carries a 286,000 load: the 5,940 pound Broussard lofts …