ElFly Looks to the Future

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Elfly, the recently-formed Norwegian aircraft company, looks to a future of responsible, emission-free flight with its nine-to-thirteen passenger amphibians.  Three partners, Eric Lithun (Chief Executive Officer), Tomas Brødreskift (Chief Technology Officer), and Eirik Sandal (Chief Financial Officer), are dedicated to making electric flight along the seaside an everyday occurrence. Lithun was interviewed about the new machine and explained its benefits. Note the humility of the team’s vision and their willingness to learn during the development process.  As Lithun explains, they can save funds by staying in the nine-passenger mode and expanding with market opportunities.  That market may be imminent, with recent announcements of letters of intent Recent interest jumped after a “dry spell” during which Lithun had difficulty finding interest in his “niche” seaplane.  That now seems over with Danish operator Nordic Seaplanes signing an agreement for 15 Noemis.     This would make Nordic, the only European operator of scheduled seaplane operations, as Elfly’s first customer.  Contingent on Noemi’s certification …

zepp.solutions has an Aeronautical Solution

Dean Sigler Announcements, Electric Aircraft Components, Electric Powerplants, Fuel Cells, hydrogen, Hydrogen Fuel, Sustainable Aviation Leave a Comment

Working With the NLR zepp.solutions is a multi-faceted Dutch firm intent on finding ways to apply hydrogen propulsion systems to sea, land, and aeronautical applications.  Their ultimate product will be the conversion of an eighty-passenger fossil-fuel powered commuter liner into a zero-emission vehicle that loses a few paying passenger to the goal of flying in clean air.  Working with the The Netherlands Aerospace Center (NLR), zepp will start with a Pipistrel Electro Velis as a proof-of-concept machine that will test new fuel cells and associated gear. zepp describes the large-scale partnership of which it is a part.  “This major Dutch partnership aims at building a hydrogen system for aircraft, completely green, from fuel to propulsion. The system will be scalable to larger aircraft. And it is entirely of Dutch origin. This will make the Netherlands the world’s leading supplier of hydrogen-powered aircraft,” according to zepp. “Hydrogen Aircraft Powertrain and Storage System (HAPSS)* is an entirely Dutch public-private partnership, set up …

Stralis – Audacious Australian Startup

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Stralis is an Australian startup with great ambition and some pretty audacious ideas.  Bob Criner, the firm’s Co-founder and CEO (with Stuart Johnstone who is also Chief Technical Officer or CTO),  gives a quick overview of those ambitions and the unique solutions he and his team are developing. Solutions include hydrogen-powered aircraft powered by fuel cells that are six times lighter than competing types.  The  certainly thinner, based on images from the company.  Stralis has, “…filed our provisional patent application for our our high-temperature PEM (Proton Exchange Membrane) fuel stack design.”  The firm has also been completing several rounds of fund raising from investors and building a customer base, with, “$263M in Letters of Intent from a range of customers across 5 countries,” for propulsion systems and aircraft. Bonnie and Clyde With the power system ready, the team created an airborne test bed (Bonnie) and a ground-based power systems test unit (Clyde) to demonstrate what their systems can do. The …

Kasaero Flies a Hydrogen Amphibian

Dean Sigler Announcements, Batteries, Electric Aircraft Components, Electric Powerplants, Fuel Cells, hydrogen, Hydrogen Fuel, Sustainable Aviation Leave a Comment

Kaesaero, a company specializing in unique aircraft, flew an ultralight hydrogen amphibian on September 23.  Often considered as too heavy and bulky for light aircraft, hydrogen has been seen recently on commercial commuter craft, but rarely on puddle-jumpers available at your local airport. The outing by a Dornier DS-2C, described by Dornier as, “a two-seat amphibious, light sports aircraft manufactured from lightweight, carbon fiber materials. Light by design, but incorporating structural integrity for safety of flight. The aircraft can host up to two occupants and 100 liters of fuel, which secures your next adventure.” Normally powered by a Rotax 912iS Sport engine of 73.5 kilowatts (95.5 horsepower), the two-seat, 650 kilogram (1,430 pound) craft has a maximum cruise speed of 250 kilometers per hour (155 mph) and a stall speed of 73 kilometers per hour (45 mph). Its 9.18 meter span gives it a rate of climb of 3.2 meters per second (630 feet per minute) and the ability to …

The Villiger Traveler – A Stunning Resemblance

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The Villiger Traveler is a Swiss aircraft that looks remarkably like the SmartFlyer SF-1 featured in our last posting.  Despite the similar styling, the Traveler has a unique history of its own, and a few stable mates that reflect its careful engineering. The Traveler 230 First introduced in 2017, the Traveler was derived from the TR230, a Cessna-like craft designed with assistance from Calin Cologan and others.  The conventional aircraft, based on other works from this group, was probably Swiss precise in its manufacture. But a different approach and less conventional look were on their way. Same Name, Different Approach Possibly taking the same approach as that taken by the SmartFlyer group, the Villiger team designed a similar appearing airplane, but with two initial variants that gave them some flexibility in choosing components. Carrying on e-Genius’ Platform By 2019, the Villiger craft was probably set in plastic, so to speak.  Such designs have to be “dialed in” early, and because …

Swiss Smartflyer – An Advanced Design

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The Swiss Smartflyer SF-1 is an advanced design showing links to the second-place finisher in the 2011 Green Flight Challenge. Launching an Airplane and an Event The creators of the Smartflyer were intent on developing a different kind of aircraft when they started in 2015.  Their hybrid aircraft had three different modes of power from the beginning: pure electric power from batteries, hydrogen fuel cells, and a Rotax engine driving a generator that powers the motor’s batteries. They’ve retained those three configurations to this day, obviously modifying or upgrading them as technology changed.  That’s part of the beauty of electric aircraft.  Motors, components and batteries keep improving, and are easy to add or change. In pure electric version, batteries fill nose, promise 2.5 hours of flight. The overall design is close to that of the original, with three replaceable power sources available for the long nose and a high-mounted propeller on the vertical tail.  That “look” came from Dipl-Ing. Rudolf …

GoAero Prize – Saving the World?

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The GoAero Prize is a $2,000,000 chance to save the world – literally.  A three-year search for solutions to the environmental disasters devastating our planet, the GoAero (Aerial Emergency Response Operations) Prize will go to the team creating an automated flight vehicle that can overcome formidable challenges. Gwen Lighter is a veteran of such challenges, having created the earlier GoFly Prize that concentrated on merely getting a single pilot off the ground safely.  Successful finalists spent three years reaching the “playoffs.” This Next Three-Years’ Challenge On the surface, the challenge sounds straightforward enough: “Design and build a safe, portable, robust, autonomy-enabled Emergency Response Flyer.” Beneath that simple mission statement, things are significantly more difficult, requiring a vehicle to reach a disaster scene and perform a necessary mission.  The craft should be able to demonstrate three main characteristics, being: Productive: Deploy on site and keep working day-in and day-out, reliably and efficiently. Versatile: All-theater, multi-environment, and robust so the important jobs …

The New, Improved Hexa 2

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Started in 2017, Matt Chasen’s Lift Aircraft has been promoting an 18-rotor, single-seat Hexa – now replaced by the new, improved Hexa 2.  Featuring more power, better batteries, improved structure and more refined electronics, the 2 seems like a reflection of the improvements generally available to electric aircraft. According to the company, “HEXA was the first eVTOL(electric Vertical Take Off and Landing) aircraft to enter production and pay-per-flight operations in the United States. We’ve produced a fleet of 16 aircraft and have showcased them in North America, Europe, Asia and the Middle East. In 2023, we launched the world’s first pay-per-flight eVTOL operations in Austin, Texas, and in 2024 we launched our 25 city U.S. tour.” Because it’s an ultralight, Hexa 2 avoids many of the complexities of certification and that enables more frequent updates and application of improved technologies. Hexa has been demonstrated at multiple air and trade shows, and even provided a ride for news personality Anderson Cooper.  …

ZeroAvia: 100 CRJ700 Motors to American

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Your Jet May Become a Prop Plane Bombardier’s (Commuter Regional Jet) CRJ700 has been in service for over 21 years, and may be about to receive a power system that will make it one of the cleanest alternatives in air travel. According to electric-flight.eu, “American Airlines plans to convert most of its CRJ700 fleet to environmentally friendly engines,” particularly ZeroAvia’s ZA2000 RJ drive train, electrified by hydrogen fuel cells. American, a shareholder in ZeroAvia, operates a fleet of CRJ 700s through its American Eagle regional airline subsidiary.  Converting the airplanes from their current General Electric CF34-8C1 to hydrogen-fueled ZA2000s will extend the lives of the planes and make them the cleanest things in the sky. Robert Isom, CEO of American Airlines, said: “To accelerate the transition of commercial aviation to a low-carbon future, investments in promising technologies, including alternative forms of propulsion, are required.” Val Miftakhov, CEO and founder of ZeroAvia, added, “At this early stage in our work together, …

Wright ASCENDS

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“The ASCEND program sets a benchmark of the fully integrated all-electric powertrain system at a power density of ≥ 12 kW/kg with an efficiency at ≥ 93%. Currently, these targets, among others, are beyond the capability of state-of-the-art technologies and will require creative thinking and innovation in the electric motor and power electronics space.”  As shown below, the large Wright motors will be available in both ducted fan jet and turboprop configurations. Wright Electric, one of eleven organizations signed up for the ASCEND Program, is pushing forward on several projects encompassing the totality of electric propulsion. WM2500 Motor Jeffrey Engler started Wright Electric in 2018, with assistance from Yates Aerospace, a firm headed by record-holder Chip Yates.  According to Wikipedia, “Two test stands were constructed: one with two 250 [kilowatt] (335 horsepower) UQM motors and two Hartzell Propellers,… the other on a 10,000 [pound] (4,500[kilogram]) trailer to be brought to high altitude test sites.”  Yates had used the same UQM …