Lange Research Shows Six-Motor, Fuel-Cell Driven E2 at Aero Expo

Dean Sigler Announcements, Batteries, Biofuels, Electric Powerplants, Fuel Cells, Hybrid Aircraft, SAS, Sustainable Aviation Leave a Comment

Lange Aviation explained the large glider-like machine on display at the 2018 Aero Expo this way: “During this year’s AERO in Friedrichshafen, a mock-up of the Antares E2 was displayed publicly for the first time by our sister company, Lange Research Aircraft GmbH. The Antares E2 is an aircraft with an extreme endurance and very high reliability, which has been designed primarily to address maritime monitoring tasks such as fishery control. In order to fulfill the design goals, a novel propulsive system using six fuel-cell systems and six over-wing propulsors has been developed.  A Large, Heavy Machine Beyond Glider Status Weighing in at a hefty 1,650 kilograms (3,630 pounds), the Lange E2 carries that weight on a 23 meter (75.45 feet) wingspan.  Part of that is the 300 kilograms (660 pounds) of methanol that powers the six 6.7 kilowatt (8.98 horsepower) fuel cells that in turn power the six 15 kilowatt (20.1 hp.) motors. High wing loading brings high speed, …

Two Siemens-Powered Electric Aircraft Debut

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A U. S. Debut in Chicago Mary Grady, writing in AVweb, reports that “Siemens brought its prototype electric aircraft to the U.S. this week for the first time, showcasing the airplane at the company’s Innovation Day in Chicago. ‘Electric propulsion is one of the transformative technologies that will help the industry meet the goals of reduced fuel, emissions and noise,’ said Teri Hamlin, vice president of electric propulsion for Siemens. ‘By accomplishing testing on our systems on select flying testbeds in the lower power classes, we are gaining valuable experience and knowledge that accelerates and validates our other developments in hybrid-electric propulsion systems in the high power classes.’“ Testing in Waco Further testing of the technology will take place in Waco, Texas, at the Texas State Technical College Airfield.  The eFusion with its Siemens 55-kilowatt electric propulsion unit, “Will be key in data collection on new electric propulsion systems, enabling safety standards and certification efforts for the aerospace market.”  Lessons …

The Coming Golden Age of Electric Air Races?

Dean Sigler Batteries, Electric Powerplants, Hybrid Aircraft, Hydrogen Fuel, Sustainable Aviation 1 Comment

An Electric Great Air Race 100 years ago, a great air race – “The Great Air Race” – in fact, was held with competitors flying from Great Britain to the Northern Territories of Australia.  Crews had 30 days to make the trip, and considering the reliability of engines at that time and the primitive nature of aerial navigation, very little time to relax. Of the six teams that entered, only two made it, three crashing (two fatally) and a fourth team being imprisoned in Yugoslavia as suspected Bolsheviks.  Only two teams finished, and only one received the 10,000 Pound Sterling prize (about 544,577 pounds today – over $775,000), enough to cause the six crews to accept the high risk  involved. The winning flight, in a Vickers Vimy WWI bomber, inspired the founders of Qantas to begin regular airline service in the country, with that company, nearly a century later, able to offer transit from Los Angeles to Sydney for under …

Swiss Movements – aEro 1 and aEro 2

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Electric Flying Inspires Bigger Plans Dufour Aerospace, based in Visp, Switzerland, and within sight of the Matterhorn, has been flying aEro 1, a Silence Twister-based electric aerobatic craft, for the last two years.  Read the pilot report on the surprising performance and the quiet flight experience in the aEro 1 to get some idea of how future flight will be a welcome relief from the noisy today’s noisy passage.  “Electric motors are so incredibly efficient. They have a huge torque and you will take off much faster than with regular engines. Our aEro 1 takes off after 70 meters of runway – at 2/3 of the available power. “The first real takeoff and flight afterwards was really mindblowing. I set the power, took off, and checked the instruments, especially the engine instruments. And checked the engine instruments again. You hear the slow roll down of the tires as they stop turning. (Have you ever heard that in a powered aircraft?) …

Forget the Airborne Pizza!  Chip Yates Sends 700 Pounds!

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Recent news shows aerial drone delivery of small packages from an Amazon Warehouse or pizza from the nearest Dominos, but such packages are lightweight trifles compared to the 700 pounds Chip Yates promises to drop from the sky. Such loads are necessary in conflict and disaster areas, where material heavy enough to hold off an enemy or feed hordes of refugees is essential.  Fifty-kilogram sacks of rice or electric generators are necessary for survival, and a heavy-duty delivery system will almost always come in handy. Chip, head of Yates Electrospace, has gone over 200 mph on an electric motorcycle, taken the UQM motor from that machine, and powered his Long-ESA aircraft to also top 200 mph.  As Aviation Week and Space Technology notes in its March 26-April 8 edition, “It is ironic, therefore, that the first product from his company… should be an unmanned cargo glider.” It’s the Silent Arrow, delivered in its own box, which becomes the fuselage for …

Starling Jet Comes in Three Sizes

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 The Starling Jet now joins electric or hybrid flying commuter craft from sources all over the world. A Middle-East backed, London-based project, the Starling Jet is swoopy and high-winged, and comes in three sizes with different missions. The Commuter Craft Trifecta Time, a most precious commodity, is the major selling point for most of these sky taxis.  Saving an executive’s schedule enhances productivity, whether it’s whisking a CEO over the traffic jams in Dallas or Dubai.  For many similar machines, the impetus is to democratize the flight experience, offering many an Uber-like experience at Uber-like prices.  Samad Aerospace, creator the Starlings, is looking toward a more exclusive market. All such craft promise the convenience of point-to-point transportation, foregoing intermediate shuttle or cab rides to get to an airport, while expanding the range of takeoff and landing locations.  Like Los Angeles, which once required flat roofs on new high-rises to accommodate helicopter traffic, other urban areas may changes zoning and other …

George Bye is a Busy Electrical Entrepreneur

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George Bye, with his namesake company, Bye Aerospace, is involved in projects ranging from solar-powered drones to 345 mph VTOL cross-country cruisers. Following the Money People are betting on the plausible success of George’s SunFlyer 2, built by subsidiary Aero Electric Aircraft Corp. (AEAC), and he’s received deposits on 105 of the two-seat training craft. Due for release in the next two years, one prototype nears test flights this year. As its capabilities are demonstrated, Spartan College of Aeronautics and Technology might increase its initial reservation for 25 SunFlyers.  Think of the impact this will have on flight training schools when SunFlyers and Alpha Electros begin delivering new pilots. George did a great job of extolling the virtues of electric aviation in an online IEEE Spectrum article, “Cheaper, Lighter, Quieter: The Electrification of Flight Is at Hand.”*  He notes that the airplane will be certified in the “standard-category, day-night visual flight rules” category, “with a target gross weight of less than …

Verdego Aero – Another Variant on VTOL Travel

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A Controversy for Starters Skeptics abound concerning the current spate of vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) machines.  The latest entry in the competition comes from the trio of Erik Lindbergh, Eric Bartsch, and Pat Anderson of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.  Their Verdego eight-rotor machine looks a bit like the Airbus A3 Vahana, but has pusher, rather than puller, propellers on the rear wing. On his Linked In page, Bartsch jumps into an ongoing fray with his article, “The Inevitability of Short-Range Urban Aviation – Why I’m Betting Against the “Flying Uber” Skeptics.” It takes aim at the opposing point of view in “Going Direct: On the Insanity of Flying Ubers,” by Plane & Pilot writer Robert Goyer.  To shorten the two arguments to their most primal levels, Eric Bartsch thinks sky taxis are coming and are inevitable.  Goyer thinks the idea is insane and not supported by even basic physics or available mechanical systems.  He doesn’t acknowledge an advantage to having …

Pipistrel Electrifies China

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Taja Boscarol, Public Relations Manager for Slovenian aircraft company Pipistrel, announced the formal establishment of the fourth company of the Pipistrel Group at the Chamber of Commerce in Jurong City (Jiansu Province), China. The new company, PIPISTREL ASIA-PACIFIC, General Aviation Technology Co. Ltd. was founded by Ivo Boscarol (51-percent owner) and Danny Wu Hao (49-percent).  Hao, as financial partner, will provide the capital investment required for the construction of Project Jurong. The ownership of both Slovene companies, Pipistrel d.o.o. and Pipistrel Vertical Solutions (a new development under control of Tine Tomazic) remains 100-percent Slovenian as before. As Ms. Boscarol’s press release relates, “From now on, the PIPISTREL ASIA-PACIFIC, General Aviation Technology Co. Ltd company is the general distributor of Pipistrel for China. “It will be in charge for realization of the ‘Project Jurong’, the agreement about establishing an aviation and tourist center next to Jurong Lake national park. The agreement was signed between Pipistrel company and the government of the …

Rolls-Royce, Airbus and Siemens Team Up on Hybrid Airliner

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As many of your editor’s friends know, he is often lured to trolling the tabloids, looking for juicy bits about the royal family or Hollywood royalty.  Recently, while perusing the Daily Mail* for news of the upcoming Harry/Meaghan nuptials, he came across the big-headline news that three European power players – Rolls-Royce, Airbus, and Siemens, are collaborating on creating a testbed for a hybrid power system. The trio will take a Bae 146 four-engine regional jet, convert it to a hybrid demonstrator by 2020, and have a production plane in place by 2030.  The high-wing airplane has four turbofans in place now, but the partners will replace one with a Siemens two-megawatt electric motor powered by a Rolls-Royce two-megawatt generator in the plane’s cargo hold. The UK paper reports, ”The companies said they were looking ahead to the European Union’s long-term goals of reducing CO2 emissions from aviation by 60 percent, as well as meeting noise and pollution limits that …