Brazil and Paraguay join the few nations which have sent an electric aircraft into flight with the introduction of the Sora-e, an attractive two-seat light sport aircraft. The 8 meter (26.25 feet) wingspan plane incorporates a Slovenian motor, Korean batteries and an American propeller, giving it a truly international flavor. The two countries share a joint venture firm, Itaipu Binacional, building and developing the airplane and its future variants. Pesquisa FAPESP (Investigation Sao Paolo Research Foundation), an online magazine dealing with various sciences, announced the first flight of a new, two-seat, electric-powered airplane. The Sora-e’s initial flight will lead to a testing program that will eventually have the plane up for 90 minutes and reaching a cruising speed of 190 kilometers per hour (118 mph). Designed by ACS-Aviation of Sao Paolo and built by ACS and Paraguay’s Itaipu Binacional, Sora-e is an all-carbon-fiber machine with seemingly excellent visibility. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n-0E83jVLc4 The video shows the first test flight taking place at Hernandarias, …
Chip Yates Chasing New Records
This morning’s email brought the following missive from Chip Yates, known for his high-speed attacks on Pikes Peak, the Bonneville Salt Flats and the skies above China Lake, California. “More good news for our electric airplane programs in the lead-up to our planned attempts to set 4 FAI official world records shortly, and then break our own top speed record of 202.6 mph for electric planes in front of the 150,000 crowd at the California Capital Airshow in Sacramento October 5-6!” Chip’s normal enthusiasm may have shortened the battery life on this Long-ESA (Electric Speed and Distance) record-setting aircraft, since his pushing the pack’s limit in all three motorcycle and aircraft record attempts probably pushed the envelope a bit too far. Jason Paur, reporting in Wired magazine’s “Autopia” section, explains, “During his record-setting flight last July, Yates managed to be the first pilot to top 200 mph in an electric airplane. But he fried the battery in the process. It …
A Useful Spreadsheet and GFC Handicapping Tool
For analyzing the greatest economy from an aircraft’s design, Howard Handelman, a highly-engaged reader of this blog, provides a link to his web site, which includes a downloadable spreadsheet he has devised that will give the inquiring reader hours of enjoyment. Handelman, self-described as, “just a retired IT guy,” with “weak math skills,” but a “compulsively curious” nature, has devised a tool for analyzing any airplane’s performance based on a few known variables, and which he has applied to many of the Green Flight Challenge’s aircraft. The basis for his analyses is his “triangle tool,” a wedge that can be used to help design propellers, “test [the] truth” of claimed aircraft performance, and estimate brake horsepower in real life circumstances (at least within the parameters of the triangle tool). Handelman notes that some aircraft, including those with laminar flow, will “not fit the model very well because they don’t fit the V-squared curve. Synergy won’t look anything like the model.” His findings …