H55 Does a Grand Tour of America

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H55, the Swiss electric light aircraft spin-off of the Solar Impulse Foundation under Andre’ Borschberg’s leadership, has toured America from sunny Florida to sunny California and back to New York’s Hamptons. H55’s Tour of America While Beta’s Alia is making the Grand Tour of Europe, the H55-powered Bristel B25 Energic has made its own Grand Tour of the New World. Completing a “landmark tour” of America, H55’s Bristell B23 Energic went literally from sea to shining sea, visited eight states, and proved its Electric Propulsion System (EPS) to be reliable and trouble-free.  According to H55, the small craft “completed 192 all-electric passenger flights, and [visited] 25 airports across Florida, Alabama, Arizona, Nevada, California, Colorado, Wisconsin, and New York. In Florida alone, the little Energic managed 14 Airport-to-airport flights, 36 demonstration flights, and 12 Static events.  H55 hosted 30 Certified Flight Instructors (CFI and CFII), aeronautical and aviation professors at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Liberty University, and Florida Institute of Technology, two aerospace …

Joby’s Autonomous Cessna and Its Competition

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Joby Aviation is testing an autonomous Cessna Caravan with the United States Air Force, part of “a successful demonstration and validation of its SuperpilotTM autonomous flight technology.”   The 208 Caravan logged more than 7,000 miles and 40 flight hours over the Pacific Ocean and Hawaii.  A similar Cessna 208 Caravan has been flying similar missions for Reliable Robotics.  And yet a third Caraban is flying for Merlin Labs on the U. S. East Coast and in New Zealand.  The three companies have chosen to test their autonomous systems on Caravans because of the craft’s reliability and availability worldwide. Over 3,000 Caravans worldwide and their Pratt & Whitney PT-6 turboprop engines contribute to their ongoing popularity. Joby and Its Superpilot According to a company press release, Joby’s autonomous control system, Superpilot, was integrated into a Cessna Caravan 208, and tasked with a variety of missions, including: Mission Readiness: Superpilot demonstrated the capability to execute rapid cargo deliveries, hub-and-spoke logistics, inter-island transport, dynamic retasking, …

Solarstratos’ New Altitude Record

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Raphael Domjan’s SolarStratos set a new world altitude record for solar-powered aircraft, 9,521 meters, or 31,237 feet, on August 12, 2025. That CBS News and other press outlets saw fit to cover the event is a significant change in coverage from just having the normal technical details explained in the aviation press. The network explained, “The SolarStratos plane made the landmark flight from Sion airport in southwest Switzerland on Tuesday, taking advantage of warm air thermals to go beyond the record that has stood for 15 years.  (That record was held by Andre’ Borschberg in the Solar Impulse.) “The certified altitude record for a solar plane stands at 9,235 meters, or 30,298 feet. “The achievement is ‘one of those unforgettable peaks that define great human and technological adventures,’ the SolarStratos mission said in a statement.” CBS noted the moment when Solarstratos crossed paths with a commercial airliner, “a powerful symbol of what the decarbonized aviation of tomorrow might look like.” …

Getting Battery Materials Without China or Child Labor

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

Imagine finding essential battery materials in a common mineral and reducing atmospheric CO2 as a side benefit.  Imagine finding a source of these necessary materials without the need to negotiate with China or enrich those who employ child labor for their wealth.  Good News Network (not as Pollyanish as it may sound) featured a picture of a young woman working in a laboratory and the headline, “Chemical Process Produces Critical Battery Metals From This Unloved Mineral With No Waste.” Often, material other than the sought-for material is the largest amount of stuff removed from a mine.  Its worth is usually low because the labor and time involved in extracting any usable minerals is too great for the profits that might be realized.  This seems to be changing with a New Zealand firm called Aspiring Materials. Good News took its lead from the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), which featured Aspiring Materials in its journal, IEEE Spectrum.   That journal …

Pivotal Helix Becomes Fire Department Volunteer

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The Pivotal Helix eVTOL (electric Vertical Take Off and Landing) Aircraft “Gains Warm Response from California Fire Agencies in Multi-Agency Demonstration Series.”  That’s the headline for a Pivotal press release on its recent demonstration for three southern California fire departments.  Seeming to be almost a response to Dr. Brien Seeley’s recent front-page opinion section editorial in the San Francisco Chronicle, Pivotal’s live show helped emergency responders see how rapid aerial response could aid their missions.   Dropping in on stations at the San Bernardino County Fire Department, Southern Marin Fire District (SMFD), and Cosumnes Fire Department, Pivotal personnel gave flight demonstrations and let firefighters try their hand at simulator flying. As Pivotal’s press release notes, “Each demo showcased the potential of Pivotal’s single-seat aircraft to dramatically improve emergency response capabilities, especially in locations where time, terrain and traffic can mean the difference between life and death.” Ken Karklin, CEO of Pivotal, added, “Our aircraft offers a cost-effective, rapidly deployable solution …

Toyota – Solid State or Aluminum?

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

Toyota has been coy with the idea of battery-powered cars, avoiding discussion of their presence in the world for several years, and now springing dual surprises in solid-state and aluminum cells. For several years, Toyota had been promoting a hydrogen fuel system, even developing a hydrogen-based trucking program from its San Diego docks.  and at an Ontario, California location.  They’ve been campaigning a sub-compact Yaris sedan which burns H2 directly, rather than using a fuel-cell electric approach.  Those efforts seem ongoing, perhaps camouflaging their very real battery efforts, which must have been underway for at least a few years.  Proof of that, Toyota has over 8,000 patents for solid-state energy storage. Toyota has been working, “With Japanese petroleum company Idemitsu Kosan to mass produce solid-state batteries. The collaboration will focus on sulfide solid electrolytes, a promising material for EV batteries.”  This partnership has been ongoing since 2013. The chart below, though, shows a renewed and current (no pun intended) interest …

ZeroAvia Does Paris and the UK

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ZeroAvia recently presented at the Paris Air Show and is working intensively on certifying its motors and systems in the United Kingdom.   Their two motors are now joined by several components, including a liquid hydrogen fuel management system.  This system comprises a “lightweight metallic tank design and associated systems for filling, storing, and distributing the fuel as hydrogen-electric technology is increasingly applied to larger aircraft,” according to the company. Here, Val Miftkhov explains the workings of the company at this year’s Paris Air Show.  Of special interest, he compares the positives and negatives of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) with those of hydrogen fuel cells, a matter of competitive importance. The Motors ZeroAvia has a pair of motors in the 600 kilowatt (804 horsepower) and 2,000 kilowatt (2,680 hp.) range, the ZA600 nearing certification in the UK and the ZA2000 attracting buyers in the regional airliner world.  The company claims several advantages for its motors.  They include, “90% Lower life cycle …

Dr. Seeley Makes the Chronicle

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Dr. Seeley Hits the Front Page Dr. Brien Seeley’s editorial on the front page of the San Francisco Chronicle’s opinion section July 14, is a well-reasoned appeal to try a radical new approach to fighting wildfires. It impressed an editorial board enough to make it their featured Op-ed leading their Sunday coverage.  It’s the product of Dr. Seeley’s decades-long research into short-take-off and landing (STOL) aircraft and his drive to make small airplanes emissions-free.  It’s also a challenge to American ingenuity and technology to help save us from the current plague of pollution and resulting wildfires.  These don’t take place only in remote backwaters like Paradise, California, but now even in once-protected enclaves such as Pacific Palisades and Beverly Hills. Dr. Seeley makes three big points in his editorial.  One, we have the technology to fight wildfires today, products of the high-tech industries in which California abounds.  Two, carbon dioxide emissions from wildfires are more than twice those from our …

Regent Viceroy Seaglider: Foiling Above the Waves

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The Regent Viceroy Seaglider completed its first lift-off on its hydrofoil lifting surfaces, gliding as its name suggests above the (placid) waves of Kingston, Rhode Island.  Of course, that lift is helped by the 65-foot wing, making this a commercially feasible WIG (Wing In Ground Effect) machine.  We have reported on earlier versions of the machine three years ago and late last year.  The configuration has changed from eight motors to twelve, but the overal concept has remeained the same. This configuration has many advantages.  The hydrofoils elevate the craft out of the water and lessen any hull drag on it significantly, enabling it to glide above, rather than plough through the water.  Operatoing in three different modes, the craft can go from navigating crowded harbors to skimming oceans along seacoasts. Simplicity of Operation In full flight mode, the wing operates in ground effect, a cushion of air roughly equivalent to the craft’s 65-foot span.  Flying at this altitude enables …

Skyfly Axe: Vertically Capable

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The Skyfly Axe is vertically capable, a new phrase (to your editor) for an aircraft capable of ascending vertically from its starting point and flying about on its own.  We first reported on this machine when it was still under development three years ago and it has kept the outward appearance it had then.  The price, as with all such things, has gone up and now sits around $295.000 ($400,700 US).  40 are on order, and you can reserve a delivery slot for ten percent of the final price.  (Skyfly’s website explains that those in the United Kingdom can reserve an Axe for £1000 ($1,358 US).  That applies only to those living in the UK, who also have to pay the dreaded Value Added Tax (VAT) on such transactions.  Those in other countries escape the tax and reserve a production slot for their 10-percent deposit. Speed and Safety The Axe offers reasonable speed for a craft able to take off …