Red Bull Does Give You Wings

Dean Sigler Electric Powerplants, Sustainable Aviation Leave a Comment

Red Bull, worldwide distributor of energy drinks, is good at putting on a show.  From their dramatic Hangar 7 museum, art gallery and five culinary outlets in Salzburg, Austria to their extravagant displays of derring-do, Red Bull lives large.  Their largesse is doled out in an incredible museum, gourmet feasts, and stunning acts of aerial derring-do. Hangar 7 houses pristine restorations of historic aircraft and Formula 1 race cars, an ever-changing selection of artworks, and restaurants, a bar, and cafes, all within a light-filled, glass-walled edifice.  Entrances to the Hangar remind your editor of depictions of wing lift curves seen in aerodynamic textbooks. And this video doesn’t even include the Museum’s magnificent Lockheed Constellation, or a glimpse of the five restaurants and cafe’s on site.  One of the best parts of visiting Hanger 7 is that parking and admission are free.  This is a true gift for fans of aviation history and Formula 1 racers, and enables one to enjoy …

Whisper Aero – Ultralight to Heavy

Dean Sigler Announcements, Batteries, Electric Powerplants, Sustainable Aviation Leave a Comment

Whisper Aero, Mark Moore’s startup in Crossville, Tennessee, fields devices to move air, ranging from leaf blowers to fairly large airplanes.  The company recently showed a lineup of three aircraft, starting with a dual-motor powered flying wing hang glider to a nine-passenger silent medium-range carrier.  Each benefits from the quiet propulsion system developed by Moore and his team. The Whisper Lineup Whisper Aero plans a range of craft from a single-seat ultralight sailplane to a small lightplane-size cargo carrier to a nine-passenger transport.  All are capable of flying autonomously, and all will be powered by from two to 30 Whisper Aero eQ250 propulsors, each capable of 80 pounds of thrust.  In this video, Manfred Ruhmer, seven-time world Class 2 ultralight soaring champion among other honors, shows off his Aeriane Swift 3, taken aloft by an Eck-Geiger electric motor, and then elevated by its light weight and Manfred’s piloting skills.  It will be fascinating to see how The ship will perform …

A Swan among the Ultralights

Dean Sigler Electric Aircraft Materials, Electric Powerplants, Sustainable Aviation, Uncategorized 1 Comment

At this year’s Aero Friedrichshafen, Modern Wings showed off their Swan Ultralight, a nicely packaged machine that can fly on either fossil fuels or electricity.  Of course, we’ll feature the electric version here. The Swan E115-22 is an electrically-powered airplane of 115 kilograms (253 pounds) empty weight powered by a 22-horsepower motor.  That empty weight puts it solidly into U. S. FAR Part 103 territory and SSDR (single-seat deregulated) requirements in Great Britain, and a 120 kilogram (264 pound) version complies with Regulation 120 in Germany.  Maximum takeoff weight is 300 kilograms (660 pounds), heavier than the 524 pounds Part 103 allows, and possible legal depending on how local FAA inspectors view batteries as part of empty or total weight. Designers chose a high-wing, tractor-propeller configuration to help keep newcomers out of trouble, and crafted a nicely streamlined pod and boom with neatly faired landing gear.  This helps enclose the pilot, “…For smooth, pleasant flights without a heavy and expensive …

EAS VIII: Calin Gologan and George Bye Make a Sunlit Announcement

Dean Sigler Electric Powerplants, Sustainable Aviation 1 Comment

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 …