Yesterday, George Bye’s Aero Electric Aircraft Company (AEAC) rolled out its Sun Flyer, an electric two-seat training aircraft with photo-voltaic cells on the wing and tail to extend its range, and over two or three days, recharge its batteries. With orders for 65 Sun Flyers already on the books, interest is high in this airplane. In an email, George informed your editor that, “We’re using the Enstroj Emrax 268 high voltage electric motor, rated at 100 kW and 400 volts nominal. Of course, the motor ‘throttle’ is electronic.” He responded to a query about battery monitoring and protection: “Battery safety is multi-fold. We monitor cells individually, cells within each ‘battery box’, (with electronic disconnect), battery box system electronic and mechanical disconnect, and then [provide] thermal and vapor barriers.” Looking a great deal like a fixed-gear Lancair, Sun Flyer will offer extremely low operating costs, a real draw for prospective pilots. Bye estimates operational costs, including charging and maintenance, will run …
EAS VIII: Calin Gologan and George Bye Make a Sunlit Announcement
Calin Gologan of PC-Aero GMBH in Germany and George Bye of Bye Aerospace in Colorado made an auspicious announcement about practical solar-electric propulsion advances for manned and unmanned aircraft. Their presentation at the eighth annual Electric Aircraft Symposium pointed toward a possible rebirth in flight training at prices not seen in decades. Their two companies are forging an alliance called the Aero Electric Aircraft Corporation (AEAC), which will produce a two-seat, side-by-side sport and training aircraft called the Sun Flyer. As stated in their press release, “The Company will bring to market the first U.S.-sponsored, practical all-electric airplane serving the training, recreational and general aviation markets.” Gologan and Bye’s talk at the Symposium focused on their joint plans to create practical solar-electric propulsion advances in manned and unmanned small aircraft. Each partner has demonstrated experience in forging new directions for electric light aircraft. Calin Gologan’s PC-Aero, for instance, consults on propulsion, structures and aerodynamics, and has produced Elektra One, a …