Oxford University graduate students have been working on a yokeless and segmented armature (YASA) motor for the last several years. The unique construction simplifies the motor and provides a lightweight (11 kilogram – 23.2 pound) unit that, as shown, puts out 40 kilowatts (53.6 horsepower). Computer simulations show the motor could put out up to 150 horsepower, over six horsepower per pound, although the current version is being held to no more than 75 kW. Originally intended for the Morgan Lifecar, a hydrogen fuel cell powered retro-styled disguise for futuristic high technology, a pair have been mounted to drive the rear wheels of a Westfield Lotus 7 replica. This extremely light sports car is also a retro ride, having been featured as Patrick McGoohan’s homebuilt car in the 1960’s TV series, “The Prisoner.” Even prisoner Number Six’s car couldn’t perform like this, and its ability to perform four-wheel drifts would be the pride of any dirt-track racer. YASA’s web site explains the …
MotoCzysz Takes Isle of Man in Style
MotoCzysz, an Oregon-based builder of high-end, high performance motorcycles, won the second Isle of Man electric Tourist Trophy (TTZero – for zero emissions) race today, June 11. The MotoCzysz E1PC eclipsed last year’s overall speed for that event’s winning Agni bike of Cedric Lynch, 87.434 mph, and raised that over 10 percent, to 96.820 mph. It came close to running a 100 mph lap of the island, according to Gizmag, but Mark Miller, the Californian riding for the team, held it back to ensure a finish and a win. It did go through the traps at one point at over 135 mph. Even the Agni Z1 ridden by Rod Barber, was faster than last year, finishing second at an average speed of 89.290 mph. Despite the improved times, electric motorcycles still lag behind their internal combustion cousins, but are making progressive leaps toward equalling the best laps of 1,000cc racers. This sudden interest in electric tourist trophy racing is a result of backing and …
A Swiss Swift
Editor’s note: Livio Mengotti sent this comment regarding Dr. Steve Morris’s Swift’s first flights in California, under the pilotage of Brian Porter. (See “A Manned Swift Takes Flight,” March 1, 2010.) The videos are self-explanatory and filled with technical detail. Based on the videos, Switzerland is filled with open fields and glorious vistas awaiting aerial exploitation. Compare Livio’s undercarriage and pilot accommodations with those of Morris’s craft and the pod on Manfred Ruhmer’s Swift conversion. Note, also, that the motor is mounted on the front of the wing, instead of behind it, as on the other two examples. Congratulations for your performance! I built an electric Swift too. I made two flights on April 2010. I can mount and remove the motor and the rechargeable battery with 5 bolts. So I can flight the Swift also without engine as a hang glider. All the best for the further development of your Swift Livio Mengotti
A World Distance Record Without Recharging?
The headline reads, “EV breaks record with 1,003-km run,” but that might be a little misleading. The Kyodo News reported the following about an astonishing run made with a Daihatsu electric vehicle. “A Tokyo civic group said Sunday it managed to get an electric car to run 1,003.184 km (about 622 miles) without a recharge, shattering its own world record from last year.” “The Japan Electric Vehicle Club said it will ask Guinness World Records to officially recognize the journey, which was completed at a racing course in Shimotsuma, Ibaraki Prefecture, as the world’s longest. The vehicle, powered by Sanyo Electric Co.’s lithium-ion battery system, ran for about 27 1/2 hours until around 2:30 p.m. Sunday (actually May 22 to 23, 2010), at a speed of about 40 kph (24.8 mph), the group said. A total of 17 people took turns at the wheel.” “Guinness World Records has officially recognized a 555.6-km journey the group made in an electric car from …
Spider Webs and Slime Mold – Nature’s Networking Genius
As aircraft become more electrified and integrated in their operations, even light airplanes are turning to networking system such as ARINC AFDX and CANBUS to link their different operational elements (See “An LSA With the Electric Heart of an Airliner, May 24, 2010). The ability to sustain failure or damage in any one element without disrupting safe operation of other subsystems or the aircraft itself becomes a primary consideration. During the Electric Aircraft Symposium’s Friday evening dinner sessions, Dr. Svetlana Poroseva of Florida State University’s Center for Advanced Power Systems (CAPS) presented a four-minute rundown on her efforts to find a network topology that provides the necessary reliability and robustness to allow power systems or naval vessels in combat, for instance, to continue their missions with the least loss of capabilities. Her findings were that a web network, not unlike that of a spider web, allowed the greatest fault tolerance, least disruption of other services and enabled mission fulfillment. This …
Solar Impulse Soars on Sunlight
Andre Borschberg, CEO of the Solar Impulse Project, had this to say after he landed following the seventh flight of the Airbus-sized solar craft – but the first using its solar panels for power. “It was like a first encounter with the sun. After I had turned on the solar panel I could see the energy reserves increasing although the engines were continuously consuming power. Never before in my 40 years as a pilot have I experienced anything like this.” Martin Reichlin reported on the excitement of going solar on May 28’s second flight. “A few minutes ago we could follow by radio how André switched on the four sectors of the round about 200 square meters of solar panels on the wings of his plane: ‘Section 1 – on. Section 2 – on. Section 3 – on. Section 4 – on’, said the voice of our CEO calmly – not showing at all, that in this precise moment he …
Twice Around London – Without Recharging
On May 27, Imperial College students driving their electric race car around the M25 orbital road that cirles London looked more like ninja thieves (because of headgear that protected them from early morning breezes) headed toward a convenience store than serious test drivers, but their mission was far more benign than their appearance. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-MkZlb29ge8 Their mount, a white and green two-seater that looks more destined for LeMans fame than for ecological breakthroughs, was the RGE (Racing Green Endurance) based on a Radical Sportscars SR8 chassis. Its power comes from two Evo-Electric motors each with a motor controller, propelled by a Thunder Sky 56 kWh battery pack and monitored by a National Instruments CompactRio unit which combines management of the motor control function, battery management system, and driver interface. RGE is capable of 200 kilometers per hour top speed (124 mph) and 400 kilometers (268 miles) range. The motors are light weight “pancake” type units with a power density of 4.2 kilowatts …
The Electric-Powered Aircraft, A Sequel
David Ullman, a professor at Oregon State University in Corvallis, Oregon, author, and owner of his own consulting firm, Robust Decisions, has published part two of his article, “The Electric Powered Aircraft,” that first appeared in Kitplanes’ October 2009 issue (see our October 18, 2009 entry, “Hear the Hum? Kitplanes Does”) . You won’t have to rush to the nearest bookstore for the sequel, since this is online in the Experimental Aircraft Association’s Experimenter. A great deal of the Experimenter is fired up with speculation and skepticism about electric aircraft and their feasibility in the current issue, including an editorial by Patrick Panzera, long-time engine guru and editor of the e-zine. A great many of the readers’ comments have a “not ready for prime time” content, indicating that the writers don’t see electric aircraft as a practical reality any time soon. Despite Panzera’s guarded enthusiasm for electric craft (he attended EAS IV), others have more moderated views. One notes, “I’m afraid that electric flight …
An LSA With the Electric Heart of an Airliner
Stephan Boutenko, Alternair President and founder, seeks a Light Sport Aircraft alternative, an airplane looking like an LSA, but loaded with features that will allow it to keep pace with the rapidly changing options coming to electric flight. Inspired by Yuneec’s E-430 but disappointed by its slow cruising speed, Boutenko was determined to create something more in line with LSA performance criteria. He also wanted to take advantage of the knowledge he had gained from years of experience with heavier aviation to create an integrated system that would allow flexibility and expandability in the development of his airplane. Unabashedly conventional in appearance, the low-wing, tricycle geared monoplane is conceived to make a pilot transitioning from an internal combustion powered machine feel right at home. The motor control electronics (MCE), for instance, are redundant, and the key-operated switch on the instrument panel has an OFF/ L(EFT MCE)/R(IGHT MCE)/BOTH function, matching the ignition switch for dual magnetos. Beyond that bow to tradition, …
Need Electricity? Go Fly a Kite
What do JoeBen Bevirt and Benjamin Franklin have in common? They both grew up without electricity and built kites to find it. While being without electricity was the default condition in Franklin’s day, JoeBen was raised in a hippy commune in the Santa Cruz Mountains. Neither man found the deprivations of his youth to be an impediment to creativity. The phrase that keeps popping up in articles about JoeBen Bevirt, founder of Joby, inc. and Joby Energy, is “inveterate inventor.” Inveterate has the sense of growing old in one’s habits, something unlikely to happen to a truly inventive soul such as JoeBen. Deviser of a knobby-looking grip that can be fastened to almost anything, and which can hold cameras, lights, and other photographic gear, Bevirt has seen his Gorillapod become a huge success, and expand into Gorillamobile and Gorillatorch versions, hands-free flexible tripods to hold cell phones, flashlights, and other personal electronic devices. Earlier, he designed robotic systems to aid in biopharmaceutical …