Robert Adam, one of the organizers of the Green Speed Cup in Germany and pilot of the Flight Design CTLS that ended the competition in seventh place, shared some information on the challenges faced by pilots in this year’s event. “We had 12-15 knots crosswind today (only a little less yesterday) and Tim-Peter (-Voss) managed this demanding taildragger (the SPACEK s.r.o. SD-1 microlight) calmly!” This very light and short-coupled airplane flies with a variety of two- and four-stroke engines, but Voss’ had a Verner JVC-360 four-stroke unit of 38 horsepower. It averaged a little over four liters per hour fuel consumption per 100 kilometers (59 mpg) over the practice day and two contest days. In the Green Flight Challenge, it would have been penalized for being a single-seater and thus having a lower passenger-mile-per-gallon figure than the two, and even four-seat entrants. The TDI turbo-diesel DA-40, for instance, would have had a 4X passenger mile per gallon figure if that had …
Stemme Motorglider Makes Automated Landing
Stemme AG, manufacturer of highly sophisticated motorgliders, has made their aerial platforms mounts for a huge array of surveillance and sensor systems. Their latest announcement, though, shows the company is thinking next generation thoughts about flying in automated skies. According to the Technical University of Berlin, a co-partner with the University of Stuttgart on the project, “the STEMME s15 landed precisely and safely at 5: 44 P.m. local time.” The flight took place March 22, 2012. Using a flight controller and laser altimeter, the system allows “optional piloting” in its operation. It also provides a high degree of flexibility, letting the airplane land at any airport, even those without instrument landing systems. LAPAZ, their automated flight control system, uses electric actuators and on-board computers to make automated flight a reality. It even opens up a new category of aircraft, the Optional Piloted Vehicle, for missions into hostile environments or situations. The team’s announcement gave some details of the project. “At …