Electric aircraft sales told the tale at this year’s Paris Air Show. European and American firms sold, or received letters of intent for, hundreds of craft, especially of interest in the electric, hydrogen, and hybrid categories we’ll discuss here. We will have subsequent entries on other craft of interest at the show and the commercial possibilities they encompass. Afrijet’s electric intentions French airframer Aura Aero signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for “multiple electric aircraft” at the Paris Air Show. This came a day after a Philippine-based Asian aerospace firm signed a Letter of Intent for three electric aircraft with Aura Aero. The 19-passenger, eight motor, ecologically friendly aircraft has an all-up weight of 8.6 tons and a hybrid cruising speed of 250 knots true air speed (288 mph). Its pressurized cabin can alternately carry 1,900 kilograms (4,180 pounds) of cargo with a total volume of 21.5 cubic meters (759.3 cubic feet). Total operating costs will run only one-tenth of …
Air Race E Leaps Forward with Eight Teams
The public got a glimpse of Air Race E at this year’s Dubai Air Show. Jeff Zaltman, CEO of Air Race E and Sandra Bour-Schaeffer, head of XO Airbus Demonstrators, pulled the wraps on Team Condor’s converted Cassutt racer – one of eight teams entering the fray. Race E is an update of the classic small aircraft races held following World War II, and many of the airplanes in the upcoming events will be re-motored and redesigned versions of these craft. Formula 1 racing has not changed much since its 1947 inception. Most air small air racers relied on the Continental C-85 engine, mildly uprated and turning faster than it did in Aeronca Champions or Piper Cubs. Formula E is the first major change and new technology in the field in over 70 years. With the advent of Air Race E, designers are encouraged to create new machines and rethink the means of propulsion. At least eight organizations are …
Richard Glassock, Jeff Zaltman and Air Race E
Richard Glassock and Beacons of Excellence Richard Glassock is an Australian scholar and designer currently living in Nottingham, England, working as a Professor at the University of Nottingnam. One if the founding lights in the Outback Joe competions, in which teams launched autonomuous aircraft into remote parts of Australia to find the eponymous character and deliver aid, he was on the forefront of things to come. Later, he designed a twin-motored sailplane to take parties of six or eight to cloudbase, a perfect outing for kid’s parties or adult’s anniversary celebrations. He was part of a team that designed a modern hybrid parachute jump plane, optimized for rapid turnarounds. His motorcycle range extender would enable a pilot to ride to the airport in style, and when connected to an electric or hybrid aircraft, provide long range – and at the end of the flight – a ride home. Not only a professor, Richard is project lead for this Beacon of …