Cranfield: Hub of Electric Aviation

Dean Sigler Electric Powerplants, Fuel Cells, hydrogen, Hydrogen Fuel, Sky Taxis, Sustainable Aviation, Uncategorized Leave a Comment

Cranfield, England and its local university are hubs for electric aircraft development.  Dr. Guy Gratton is test flying The Light Aircraft Company’s eKub on 48-Volt battery power, ZeroAvia is crafting a Dornier 228 to run on hydrogen, and now Cranfied Aerospace Solutions (CAeS) is readying a Britten-Norman Islander for H2-powered flight in 2023. The Islander Living up to its name, Britten-Norman’s Islander seems to be busy worldwide island hopping.  The twin-engine plane ever makes the world’s shortest scheduled flights, including this between Juist to Norden across the Wadden See.  The 74-second flight is less than the time spent taxiing at the beginning and end of the hop. Designed and developed in the 1960s, 750 Islanders of the 1,280 built are in service with many small airlines and over 30 militaries.  Now, other enterprises are banding together with Britten-Norman and Cranfield Aerospace Solutions (CAeS) to bring hydrogen flight to the Isles of Scilly, a popular English vacation destination. Three companies signed …

Pratt & Whitney HySIITE Hydrogen and Steam Engine

Dean Sigler Announcements, hydrogen, Hydrogen Fuel, Sustainable Aviation Leave a Comment

A (Partially) Steam Engine in the Sky?  Pratt & Whitney announces that it, “Has been selected by the U.S. Department of Energy (DoE) to develop novel, high-efficiency hydrogen-fueled propulsion technology for commercial aviation, as part of DoE’s Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E).” Their press release continues, “The Hydrogen Steam Injected, Inter‐Cooled Turbine Engine (HySIITE) project will use liquid hydrogen combustion and water vapor recovery to achieve zero in-flight CO2 emissions, while reducing nitrogen-oxide (NOx) emissions by up to 80 percent and reducing fuel consumption by up to 35 percent for next generation single-aisle aircraft.” P&W claims their HySIITE engine’s steam injection will “dramatically reduce” nitrogen oxide emissions, a greenhouse gas.  “The semi-closed system architecture is claimed to have thermal efficiency “greater than fuel cells,” and have lower operating costs compared to “drop-in” sustainable aviation fuels (SAF). Steam Aircraft Engines Are Not New The Besler Brothers of Oakland, California demonstrated a Travel Air 2000 biplane powered by their steam engine.  The …

Eviation’s Alice Meets a Governor and a Mayor

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

Eviation’s Alice and MagniX’s motors got a visit from the Governor of Washington State and the Mayor of Arlington where the nine-seat airliner is being prepared for its first flight.  Electric aircraft, so far, don’t command that big a portion of the daily press, so it’s heartening to see TV cameras and news reporters turn out. Eviation shared its take on Facebook.  “We enjoyed hosting @GovInslee and @barbtolbert today for an intimate look as Alice prepares for first flight later this year. They saw first-hand how our growing teams are working to make #electricaviation a reality.” Governor Jay Inslee was already aware of the work motor company MagniX was doing when he acknowledged the May 28, 2020 flight of a Cessna Grand Caravan.  “The world’s largest all-electric aircraft took flight yesterday. And it was right here in Moses Lake, WA. Congratulations to @MagniX and all those involved.”  This referenced the Cessna Grand Caravan powered by a Magnix Magni500 motor. In …