MGM Compro Enjoys Good News in Europe and at Oshkosh

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

MGM Compro is a Czech company that seems to have a motor on half of every light electric airplane flying today.  Their motors have powered Airbus’s electric Cri-Cri (four 15-kilowatt units), the firm’s e-Fan, Ruppert Composite’s Archaeopteryx, e-Volo’s Volocopter, and any number of motorgliders and light sport aircraft buzzing quietly over Europe, and soon, America. Certification in Europe Certification is usually the route to wide acceptance of a new motor, proof that the unit has passed some rigorous tests and is suited for use in aircraft.  As Martin Dvorsky, Managing Director for the firm reports: We are really proud to announce that [the] MGM COMPRO complex propulsion unit just obtained [a] CERTIFICATE OF AIRWORTHINESS issued by [the] Slovak Federation of Ultra Light Aircraft. This certificate means that the glider and its system has positively passed all the safety and flight tests and can be legally operated by LSZ license holder (UL license counterpart).” Note the clever motor and propeller folding and retraction …

Smartflyerchallenge – Europe’s First Fly-In for Electric Powered Aircraft

Dean Sigler Electric Powerplants, Sustainable Aviation Leave a Comment

Air meets have been an important part of aviation history, bringing pilots, planes nad the public together in a symbiotic gathering.  This was true in aviation’s genesis; things gaining a tremendous impetus with air meets throughout Europe and America following Wilbur Wright’s 1908 public demonstrations near Le Mans, France. René Maier, ex-Colonel of the Swiss Army and current President of the newly formed organization team for an annual event organized at the Grenchen Regional Airport, has announced the SmartFlyer Challenge, touted as the first fly-in for electric aircraft.  The event, to be held September 9 and 10, 2017, will make Grenchen “the center of electric flight,” according to the organizers.  Static and air displays of electric and hybrid-electric powered aircraft will help drive that message home. Organizers advertise at least four aircraft scheduled to appear, including an electrified Votec 221 being prepared by a group of university students at Innocampus Biel at the Bern University of Applied Sciences, Hangar 55’s Hamilton …

Jetpacks to VTOL Multi-Rotors

Dean Sigler Electric Aircraft Components, Sustainable Aviation Leave a Comment

You see a lot of articles petulantly demanding, “Dude, where’s my jetpack?” or “Where’s my flying car?”  It’s a bit like wanting a Formula 1 racer in which to commute, and fraught with similar problems.  An F1 race car, for instance, demands incredible driving skills – that’s why most F1 drivers are incredibly well compensated.  A jetpack is a very short-range machine.  Strapping one on, avoiding scorch marks on your heels and zipping even a mile or two might actually take more time than walking, or hopping on a bike. From James Bond to Civilian Use James Bond’s use of a Bell Rocket Belt to escape goons in Thunderball made it look quick, easy, and a great way to find your way to your Aston-Martin and the Bond girl of the day.  Movie editing couldn’t provide us with anything close to that before now, as commercially-available versions were too pricey (still are) and too demanding to allow untrained civilians anywhere …