H3 Dynamics (formerly HES – Horizon Energy Systems) has flown a small example of its hydrogen-electric nacelle that could power many craft now in the concept phase. H3 headlines its web page with the words, “Dreaming Big,” followed by the premise, “The future of aviation is hydrogen-electric, autonomous, and digital.” Their press release declares, “The future of hydrogen aviation powered by H3 Dynamics’ distributed hydrogen propulsion nacelles has taken flight for the very first time in France.” Hydrogen could be a dream fuel, clean burning and leaving only a little water vapor in its wake. It has a few drawbacks, though. H2 takes up four times the space of gasoline or kerosene for a roughly equivalent amount of energy. In something sizeable like a semi-truck or a seagoing ship, such space requirements can be accommodated. Airplanes need to be streamlined and svelte, so trying to carry enough energy for long ranges and endurance can spoil otherwise beautiful lines. H3 claims its …
Doubling Down with Ascendance
Ascendance Flight Technologies, a French firm developing an electric Vertical Take Off and Landing (eVTOL) aircraft, has doubled down on its original, smaller airplane. Originally a four-seat, hybrid-powered machine with three lift fans, Atea has retained the name, but grown considerably. Holey Wings Atea now has eight lift fans and two horizontal propellers arranged in a push-pull configuration. It can carry its five passenger in a “Skyview cabin” for 400 kilometers (248 miles) Powered by its modular “Sterna” hybrid-electric propulsion system, the craft will hit as yet unspecified speeds, but within a two-hour range, that will probably be about 124 mph. An expansion of their original design, Atea comes from a group of former Airbus e-Fan engineers and technicians. The web site explains, “Ascendance was cofounded in 2018 by Jean-Christophe Lambert, Benoit Ferran, Clément Dinel and Thibault Baldivia, who together have 26 years combined experience and expertise working on hybrid and electrical aircrafts: from Airbus on the E-FAN all-electric aircraft …
HES Element One Could Fly Four 5,000 Kilometers
Horizon Energy Systems (HES), originally based in Singapore, has pursued lightweight hydrogen propulsion systems for the last 12 years, primarily for amall drones. Going larger, the company announced plans today for Element One, “the world’s first regional hydrogen-electric passenger aircraft.” A four-passenger, 14-motored (!) monoplane, Element One will carry the lucky foursome 500 to 5,000 kilometers (310 to 3,100 statute miles). This distributed power system claims “virtually no change to its current drone-scale systems,” which is a little puzzling, considering the largest of such systems produces no more than 1,000 Watts. The scale of the Element One and its power packs is ambiguous, with illustrations showing a nine-axle trailer with attached solar panels ostensibly powering the on-site production of H2. One illustration depicts a drone-launching site with fuel pods possibly approximating the size of the units that will be used on Element One. These are larger and their scale relative to the people in the illustration gives an approximation of …