Recent news items herald the incredible return on investment the Ukrainian army is getting from its use of small cardboard aircraft. These literally boxy bombers are doing in Russian aircraft and possibly tanks with surprising capability. They may have had an initial inspiration in 2017. Everfly, Otherlab, and Star Simpson At the 2017 Sustainable Aviation Symposium in San Francisco, Star Simpson of Everfly, an affiliate of Otherlab, showed off a cardboard drone intended for humanitarian missions. Read about the craft, its many acronym-related affiliations, and its missions here. Ukrainians and Their Cardboard Air Force On a less humane, but equally important mission, an Australian version of the “pizza-box” technology is wreaking havoc on the Russian Air Force and even Russian tanks. The Sydney (Australia) Daily Herald reported on August 29, “Australian-made cardboard drones have been reportedly used to help bomb a Russian airfield as the Ukrainian military steps up its attacks on Russian territory.” According to the report, Sypaq drones …
SA Symposium 2017 – An April Festival of Electric Flight
April 21 and 22, 2017, set your GPS for N 37° 31′ 20.84” W 122° 15′ 38.31” – the Hotel Pullman San Francisco Bay. The refined and beautiful setting and four-star accommodations make a grand accompaniment to the story we will share. The story of the 2017 Sustainable Aviation Symposium includes the latest in aerodynamics, electric power and energy storage. It’s a grand and sweeping review, told by talented intellects in the context of using the latest technology to help save the planet. A few exemplars of the program highlight this year’s story, “ A Keynote Address from a Master Designer Tine Tomazic, Director of Research and Development for Pipistrel, created the G4 to win the 2011 Green Flight Challenge, the Alpha Electro Trainer, and the Hypstair hybrid speedster. His pioneering forays into electric power have made him a leader in development of everything from airframes to instrumentation. What will he come up with next? He might share that at …