Icare’ 2’s 30th Anniversary

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As  Icare’ 2 continues exploration of advanced aerodynamics, Karl Kaeser, CEO of Kasaero GmbH, reminds us of an important event in electric aviation, the 30th anniversary of Icare’ 2. Editor’s note.  Karl Kaeser made the following clarification (Seprember 3): “I have never been really involved with the Icaré aircraft. I’d rather see the name of Professor Vot-Nitschmann there or Werner “micro” Scholz.  As for the e-Genius Professor Voit-Nitschmann was also for the Icaré the leader of the design group. And micro was the research assistant who brought the Icaré to reality.”   “Exactly 30 years ago today (July 1), electric flight took off at the University of Stuttgart! “On 1 July 1996, the Icaré 2 successfully completed its maiden flight – a solar-electric motor glider developed at the University of Stuttgart – Institute of Aircraft Design (IFB). What may have seemed visionary at the time has since become part of a much larger story: three decades of research into electric flight. …

Swift 3 Flies on Two Whispers

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Thomas Sleightholm, writing in eVTOL Insights, reports, “Whisper Aero has completed the first piloted flights of its eQ250 electric ducted-fan propulsion system aboard a modified Swift 3 glider, marking a move from ground testing to flight testing for the company’s electric propulsion technology.” Whisper chose the Swift because its 26:1 lift-to-drag ratio allowed evaluation of, “Propulsion performance and aircraft integration under FAA special airworthiness conditions.”   The light weight and low drag of the craft ensured good performance on the twin propulsors.  With a gross weight of  “over 600 pounds,” the Swift is no ultralight.  But wifh 170 pounds of thrust push it quietly along, performance is sprightly, including a 1,200 foot-per-minure rate of climb. Taking a bit of editorial license, we’ll assume a gross weight of 650 pounds for the Whisper Swift, including 16 pounds each for the propulsors, more for batteries, and additional for the five Electrical Power Systems Epic 1.0 Energy Modules.  Even with the added weight, the …

Take Heart: the X1 Flies

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Heart Aerospace, a swedish firm with great aspirations, can breathe a little easier following the first flight of its X1, 30-passenger electric airliner. The Biggest Electric Aircaft So Far Its 30-passenger fuselage 76 feet long under a 106-foot span wing, the X1 is the largest electric airplane to fly, if you don’t count Solar Impulse with its 236-foot wingspan (but 5,100 pound weight — lower than that of the passengers on the X1, perhaps). At 25,000 pounds, the Heart X1 outdoes Solar Impulse five to one, carrying that mass on half the wingspan,  How did Heart’s designers enable landings on short regional runways? Nacelle Patents One would normally consider enlarging the wing to lower landing speeds and allow landings on shorter regional runways.  Heart designers chose to concentrate on nacelle design instead. A September 11, 2024 press release revealed Heart’s thinking on improving flight and landing characteristics.  “Heart Aerospace, the Swedish hybrid-electric airplane maker, has filed two EU design applications …

1comet Microlift Sailplane

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1comet is a recent member of the ultralight sailplane community, and one with outstanding performance in the refined arena of microlift.  Its makers proclaim its mission: “1comet AG was founded on the belief that pure flight is one of the most beautiful forms of freedom ever created.” Since microlift combines a craft’s ability to circle tightly in small thermals (columns of warm, rising air), 1comet is designed to exploit even such weak “updrafts” and return extended flights.  Wikipedia informs us, “A microlift glider is a recreational glider that is able to exploit microlift, which is lift weaker than a conventional glider would require to stay airborne.” Wikipedia lists nine such craft: Advanced Aeromarine Sierra Aériane Swift Bailey-Moyes Tempest EEL ULF 1 Glidersport LightHawk Maupin Carbon Dragon Ruppert Archaeopteryx Neutrino 1comet All fall, nzturally, into the ultralight class, a great accomplishment for machines with greater wingspans than most in that class. An interview with Donat Bösch helps highlight the lightweight sailplane’s salient features.  Initial design by Martin Hepperle …

Beta Flies at Oshkosh, Farnborough

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A Hit on Two Continrnts Beta Technologies’ Alia CX-300 displayed its form and function at AirVenture 2026 in Oshkosh, Wisconsin and at the Farnborough International Air Show in England.  The static and aerial exhibitions marked Beta’s ongoing devolopment of its aircraft, charging technology and network, and partnerships throughout America and Europe, and in much of the rest of the world. Beta at AirVenture The Beta Alia was on display outside the Innovation Pavillion and in the air during the evening air shows, its quiet passes in marked contrast to the raucous noise from other aircraft. A bit long at 17 minutes, and a demonstration of Flight Chops’ aerial photography acumen, the video manages to highlight Alia’s economy of operation.  $2.40 for the six-minure air show routine would not cover the cost of taxiing even an ultralight from the flight line to the runway.  That Kyle Clark could perform a full-power sequence,  return to Appleton (about 25 miles north) and land …

The Blanik Urfin: Electric and Self-Launching

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The Blanik Urfin is a 120-kilogram (264.5 pounds) categopry self-launchig sailplane, its 22 kilowatt (29.4 horsepower motor and five-blade  1,26 meter (4.13 feet)-diameter propeller, capable of lofting it to soaring altitude at 4.5 meters per second (787 feet per minute).   The little Urfin (named after a playful Czech folk character) was shown at this year’s Aero Friedrichshafen, and takes its place amoug severual ultralight soaring machines, all self launching. The airplane’s 13.5-meter ( 44.3 feet)wingspan enables a 29:1 glide ratio, meaning a pilot can perform modest cross-country flights in a reasonable time.  One advantage of having a readily-called-upon motor and instantly-reactive propeller is the ability to avoid outlandings in potentially hazardous terrain.  The thrust from the propeller centered on the aircraft’s boom reduces the need for any major trim changes, an advantage for novice pilots.  One could even us lower throttle settings to emulate higher performance sailplanes, extending the glide ration and overalo performance.  This would also consume the 5.4 …

China Follows New Battery Paths

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Does China own the EV battery market?  One may be forgiven for thinking that lithium batteries have problems that cloud their future.  Battery makers worldwide are struggling to solve these problems, but China seems to have taken the lead in breakthroughs. One of the country’s biggest competitors may be Finland’s Donut Lab, which has been promoting its 400-Watt-hour-per-kilogram cells, claiming the ability to be recharged 100,000 times.   Chinese competition may not disprove these claims, but seem to up the ante. A Chinese Consortium China may have a much bigger competitor in personnel and resources with its consortium of battery and automotive manufacturers. CASIP, or the China All-Solid-State Battery Collaborative Innovation Platform.  CATL (Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Limited). is probably the largest company involved, with 37.9 percent of the 2024 total world battery market in its sales profile.  Other battery manufacturers include  CALB, EVE Energy, SVOLT, Gotion High-Tech, and BYD’s battery subsidiary, FinDreams Battery.  Several state-owned auto makers are involved, as …

Where in the World is Beta Alia N314BT?

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Beta Alia N314BT is now part of Bristow’s fleet at Stavanger Airport in Denmark.  Bristow is self-described as, “the world’s leading provider of helicopter transportation to energy customers, search and rescue (SAR) and aircraft support solutions to government and civil organizations.”  The company serves clients in Africa, the Americas, Australia, and throughout Europe.  In this northern-most location, Beta Alias could deliver personnel, equipment, and supplies to even more remote locales. Initiating the Grand Tour Beta’s Alia arrived by ship at Shannon Airport, Ireland in May 2025, ready for its Grand Tour of Europe.  Beta pilots flew a series of sub-300-mile hops on their way north on what would prove to be a delivery flight.  After delighting the locals with trips brushing the cliffs along the airport site, the pilots prepared for a 153 nautical mile VFR (Visual Flight Rules) jaunt.  This, and each subsequent hop added to the over 100,000 miles Beta craft have accumulated in the last few years. …

Joby Bay Area Demo Starts a Tour

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A Bay Area Feat Joby Aviation flew its “FAA conforming” JAS4-1 N547JX in the Bay Area and beyond this week, the first of many demonstration flights it will perform nationwide as part of its Electric Skies Tour. “Conforming,” according to Flying magazine, “Means that the model aligns with Joby’s agency-approved airworthiness criteria and test plans. In other words, it is representative of the aircraft the company intends to certify and operate.” Flying around San Francisco brought out the local news crews, but Joby had a sentimental journey to reward its workers with a view of their long-term achievement. Landing at a quarry near the original Woodpeacker Ridge compound that was JoeBen Bevirt’s home and workshop, N545JX was welcomed by a crowd of workers and their families, alsways prominent in company events.  The Woodpecker Ridge site held probably less than three dozen workers in 2012, many of them grounds keepers and gardeners.  The blog has reported on personnel growth since then …

XPRIZE Wildfire Finalists

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The XPrize Foundation had a significant announcement last week, the five finalists in the Wildfire Detection and Suppression Challange. The Foundation describes the wildfire competition this way: “Competitors in the Autonomous Wildfire Response Track are developing fully autonomous solutions to detect and suppress a high-risk fire in 10 minutes or less over a large, environmentally complex area roughly the size of San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose combined, while avoiding decoy fires—a challenge that has never been tackled at this scale and scope before. These technologies have the potential to transform how fires are detected, managed, and fought, with a rate 4x faster than current best practices and shortening the time between detection and rapid response, minimizing negative impacts.” The competition is based on two tracks with a bonus high-speed fire detection prize, again quoting from the official XPrize Wildfire web site: “Track A: Space-Based Wildfire Detection and Intelligence tests teams’ ability to detect fires across vast, environmentally challenging landscapes …