With speculation in CAFE circles about the use of thin, lightweight motors now available for landing and takeoff augmentation, it comes as almost now surprise that DLR, the German Aerospace Centre, and the Airbus people at EADS have announced development of an electric nose wheel that could replace airport tugs and extended ground operation for airliners’ jet engines. According to The Engineer, a British publication, a fuel cell-powered system delivers electrical energy capable of powering the nose wheel of a 70-ton aircraft. “Commercial aircraft could cut their on-ground emissions by one quarter with a new hydrogen fuel-cell propulsion system, according to its creators. “For short-haul aircraft that often take off and land seven times a day, this could save between 200 and 400 litres of kerosene per day while reducing noise by around 95 per cent, without the use of towing vehicles.” Tested in the DLR laboratories, the twin electric motors are about to be checked out on a real A320. …
No Cracks About Glass Runways, Please
My daughter Ann sent me a video about an astonishing and novel use of materials – glass highways that interact with drivers and collect solar power. Sharing this with Dr. Seeley caused him to share it with his sons, who had immediate feedback. Damon Seeley is co-founder and partner with Cameron McNall in Electroland, a collaborative design firm that creates interactive displays involving light, sound, and a variety of media. He thinks, “The idea is sound,” but shares some caveats based on his experience. “I’m sure they have wildly optimistic cost projections of what it takes to produce and install these. Also I now have 5 years’ experience with the extreme unpredictability of sandwich constructions under real-world shear loading from footsteps. I can only imagine what a semi-trailer in ABS brake mode will impart to the surface. They are going to need carbon nano-tube adhesives.” Structurally, Corning may have part of the answer with its Gorilla glass, something invented in …
Dynamic and Regenerative Soaring – Perpetual Energy in Flight
Phil Barnes has an impressive set of credentials, and an even more impressive body of work. Having seen three of his presentations at the Experimental Soaring Association’s Western Workshops, this writer can attest to the breadth and depth of his knowledge. According to his biography, “Phil Barnes has a Master’s Degree in Aerospace Engineering from Cal Poly Pomona and a Bachelor’s Degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Arizona. He has 25-years of experience in the performance analysis and computer modeling of aerospace vehicles and subsystems at Northrop Grumman. Phil has authored technical papers on aerodynamics, gears, and flight mechanics.” He now has his own web site, How Flies the Albatross, where readers can interact with the flight of the albatross in simulated dynamic soaring conditions, with mathematical explanations of a very high order. Barnes took all the photographs of albatrosses in flight, and are another impressive facet of his abilities. Another segment provides an “Aerodynamic and Artistic Study” …
A Second Slovenian Self-Launching Sailplane – With a Solar-Powered Trailer
Tine Tomazic of Pipistrel alerted the blog that his firm started series production of their Taurus Electro G2, a first for a two-seat electric aircraft, according to Pipistrel, claiming 20 customers who will receive their G2’s by year’s end. Improvements over the prototype led to the “rev.2” series version of the self-launching sailplane, which also is the first electrically-powered craft to exceed the performance of its two-stroke Rotax-powered alternative, according to Tomazic. Pipistrel expands on this. “Taurus Electro G2 can use a shorter runway, climbs faster and performs much better than the gasoline-powered version when it comes to high altitude operations. All this is possible thanks to the specially-developed emission-free Pipistrel 40kilowatt electric power-train.” The clean sailplane design (40:1 glide ratio) allows full exploitation of the system. Improvements in the motor and batteries contribute to this performance boost. The new motor weighs 11 kilograms (23.2 pounds), five less than the prototype’s unit, and generates 10 kW more power. Pipistrel notes, “Due to this …
The Kindest Cut of All
In 1811, an inventive tailor in Ulm, Germany attempted a hang glider flight across the Danube River. He failed in the attempt, but it became the stuff of legend and at least one television commercial. Albrecht Ludwig Berblinger (1770-1829) had wanted to be a watchmaker, but was consigned to become a cutter of fabric. Despite this, he used his spare time to invent things like the first jointed artificial leg in 1808. Perhaps his skills with fabric led to his fabricating a pair of wings, essentially a hang glider, Shunned by his fellows for working outside the discipline of tailoring, Berblinger poured his resources into building and testing his glider. Leaping from a scaffold built for the attempt by Prince Frederick on Württemberg Castle’s walls, he attempted to glide to the other side of the too-wide stream. Ending up rescued by nearby boatmen, he was hailed as a hero nonetheless. He died of emaciation (alternately reported as exhaustion) living in …
Front Electric Self-Launcher on a Silent
Slovenian father-son team Luka and Matija Znidarsic developed a unique approach to keep a sailplane aloft once it’s launched through traditional aero-tow or winch methods. Their outrunner brushless motor produces 15 kilowatts (20 horsepower)at 100 Volts continuously, and can generate 25 kW (33 horsepower) for short bursts. Weighing 6.5 kilograms (14.3 pounds) in a 180 millimeter (7 inches) diameter, 80 mm (3.15 inches) long package, the motor can be easily set into the modified nose of a conventional sailplane, with a one-meter diameter propeller folding neatly into the streamlines of the fuselage. It has powered a LAK-17A 18-meter sailplane, showing a positive rate of climb when energized. In a big sailplane like the LAK, the motor allows shortening expensive tows or extending flight when thermals become iffy. Now, the Znidarsics have increased the capability to allow self launching with a sailplane, at least for smaller craft such as the Silent. According to Luka, “We developed a 3cm (a little over an inch) longer motor than is used on …
Aircraft That Don’t Ask For Directions
During the last two Electric Aircraft Symposia, Sebastian Thrun has shared his visions of future autonomous highways travelled by free-range cars that literally think ahead of the curve and don’t allow themselves to be boxed in – and even more daunting – autonomous helicopters that independently perform maneuvers that stretch the envelope in new directions and dimensions. His 2009 EAS presentation featured a Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) desert race in which his Stanford University team fielded a Volkswagen Taureg in a 132-mile race through the Mojave. Although not the ultimate winner, Stanford’s entry completed the course in a time that would have done pride to any human Baja race driver. More related to daily driving and eventual incorporation into a “smart” air traffic control system, Stanford’s entry in the DARPA Urban Challenge showed what is possible in close-quarter driving. As Thrun noted, careful measurements from aerial and satellite photographs show huge gaps in what is considered “bumper-to-bumper” traffic, with …
(Mostly) Borne on the Wind Across Australia
Wind surfing across southern Australia, a German team showed ingenuity and skill in a 3,000 mile journey that, as their web site boasts, used “no electricity mains, no gasoline,” and produced “zero CO2.” TG Daily and Gizmag announced the successful crossing of Australia (Albany to Sydney) by a wind-powered car. Although the car carried a telescoping mast and small wind turbine to recharge its 8 killowatt hour lithium battery pack, the two designer/drivers were forced to plug in to available sources from time to time, accounting for the $15 cost of the powering the expedition. When possible, they towed the 200 kilogram (440 pound) car with a kite. The Wind Explorer web site proclaims that “Plan[ning] your route with the Wind Explorer is… unique pioneering. But behind it, how efficient, autonomous and environmentally friendly mobility today can be!” Especially if you are an accomplished kite flyer. Even more outré than their portable wind turbine, the team used a large kite …
Something(s) Amazingly New Under the Sun
To share an idea of how packed with information and inspiration an Electric Aircraft Symposium can be, I’m still writing reports on the fourth annual event, even though EAS V is coming up April 29 in Santa Rosa, California. This is the next-to-last blog entry on last year’s presentations, and as noted in yesterday’s press release for the event, 2011’s will have at least as many presenters and material. Tyler MacCready is the son of Paul MacCready, founder of AeroVironment, Inc. and inspiration for many human-powered, ultralight, and solar-powered aircraft over the last several decades. This author was in England when Bryan Allen pedaled Gossamer Albatross across the English Channel, a breakthrough in what was considered aerodynamically and structurally possible. At age 14, Tyler had been the test pilot for the Albatross. Such experiences led to his early work in solar-powered aircraft, as he told attendees at the fourth annual Electric Aircraft Symposium. Tyler was there as part of AeroVironment’s …
5th Annual CAFE Electric Aircraft Symposium Launches New Age of Flight
Dr. Brien Seeley, founder and President of the CAFE Foundation, shares this important news. SANTA ROSA, CA.—On April 29-30, 2011, an outstanding faculty from NASA, industry and academia will present the technologies necessary to inaugurate the Age of Electric Flight. The 5th Annual CAFE Electric Aircraft Symposium (EAS V) will reveal how safe, emission-free, 2-4 seat electric aircraft could soon make a doorstep-to-doorstep round trip from San Francisco to Los Angeles on a single battery charge at nearly twice the overall trip speed of airline travel. The latest breakthroughs in energy storage, motors, quiet propulsion, powered lift, electronic pilot assistance, autonomous flight and aerodynamics will be presented along with proposals for how they can transform transportation. EAS V will again network its faculty with the attendees, including venture capitalists, leaders of the aircraft industry, government researchers and aviation enthusiasts in the highly successful evening Theme Dinners in the Grand Ballroom of the Flamingo Resort and Spa in Santa Rosa, California. As …