A3 backed by Airbus, EHang 184 from China, and Zee from Larry Page (head of Google) – Silicon Valley seems an unlikely source of aeronautical breakthroughs, but several entrepreneurial outings from Airbus, Chinese startups, and Zee.Aero, led by a secretive Larry Page, have interest growing. A pair of recent flights by Zee’s craft in Hollister, California have generated coverage – and speculation. Larry Page’s Two Companies It turns out Page has a second company, Kitty Hawk, taking yet another path toward electrified flying cars with something like a large quadcopter – not unlike the eHang 184. Neither Zee.Aero nor Kitty Hawk is affiliated with Google, both funded out of Page’s largesse. One theory is that his two companies, the first started by noted aerodynamicist Ilan Kroo and the second headed by Sebastian Thrun, will engage in a friendly competition to create the best device for future development. Considering the secrecy, or perhaps because of it, a few recent flights by …
A Large Quadplane Version of the Pilatus Porter
Richard Glassock, a long-time contributor to the blog, is from Australia, and has lived and worked in Hungary for the last few years. He’s known to blog readers for his work in autonomous aircraft, very large sailplanes, and hybrid propulsion design. He shares news this week about “some excellent work by an Australian researcher I have known for a while. In one way or another, he is actualizing many of the ideas/dreams I had 20 years ago.” The craft isVTOL (vertical takeoff and landing), fixed wing, capable of automated flight, and is almost a hybrid (depending on definition). It was developed for the Outback Challenge, originally a chance for aircraft designers to show how their craft could autonomously search for and find Outback Joe, a mannequin layabout who would otherwise become dingo bait. The 2014 event “was themed around an outback rescue mission.” 2016 sees Joe “stuck in a clearing in the Australian Outback, surrounded by floodwaters, but needs to …