Teofilo Leite has been refining a beautiful twin-motor glider for the last decade. Apparently he’s moving on to a five-seat, four-motor, dual-propeller beauty that is set to take on the world. The Electron 5 looks a great deal like a larger Electron 2, which has been flying in various configurations for the last decade. Electron Aviation, with representatives in The Netherlands and Australia states, “Our Electron 2, a two-seater battery-electric aircraft (Teofilo’s earlier design), is the flying proof that our energy efficient aircraft designs deliver outstanding performance. Whilst being well within inside the 600-kilogram (1,320 pound) ultralight microlight [regulations], it achieves 3 hours flying time during which it can cover 300 kilometers (186 miles).” Electron 2 flies its pilot and passenger on 7.5 kilowatt hours per hour of flight. Its three-hour endurance would mean a battery of at least 22.5 kilowatt-hours. Continued improvement to the Electron 2 required “30,000 design and engineering hours and several re-designs.” The latest iteration “has …
A Solar Airport Profits from Vegetables
We’ve covered several airports that have found ways to make themselves environmentally friendly, including recycling the vast amounts of waste left by passengers, and installing solar panels to help run the site. Recently honored by the United Nations. “Cochin International Airport Limited (CIAL) has been selected for the Champion of Earth Prize – 2018, the highest environmental honor instituted by United Nations. CIAL is honored for its successful execution of one of the revolutionary ideas of using solar energy which made Cochin Airport a first in the world fully powered by it.” Besides generating 40 megawatts of electricity from its solar panels at 2018 levels, the airport grows organic vegetables beneath those panels. To ensure optimum land use, “CIAL has successfully implemented organic farming of vegetables in area[s] between solar panels. The airport stands at fourth in the country in terms of international traffic and seventh in total traffic has handled ten million passengers in 2017-18.” V.J.Kurian, Managing Director for CIAL, has an integrated …