Green Flight Challenge +15, Noise

Dean Sigler Electric Powerplants, GFC, Hybrid Aircraft, Sustainable Aviation Leave a Comment

Day 2 of the 2011 Green Flight Challenge had actual flying; very quiet flying.  One criterion of the Challenge was a sound check, measuring the low noise levels of the four entrants. Plane and Pilot reported, “Rules enforced a strict noise ceiling to promote the development of quiet, community-friendly general aviation aircraft:  “Maximum Noise Limit: Participating aircraft were required to stay below a maximum noise level of 78 dBA during full-power takeoff. (This was a notable goal since Putdue University acknowledged much higher levels for small airplanes, “Flyover levels: A typical single-engine general aviation plane (like a Cessna) flying overhead at 1,000 feet measures roughly 88 dBA, though general averages can drop closer to 65 dB depending on distance, engine power, and altitude.  “Comparison: Ground noise from a small plane flyover is comparable to a loud power lawnmower (96 dB) or heavy street traffic (85–90 dB), but it is intermittent and perceived differently depending on proximity to local airfields.  “Regulation …

Green Flight Challenge + 15

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

15 years ago, the Green Flight Challenge (GFC) Sponsored by Google took to the shies over Santa Rosa, California.  It featured the richest prize in aviation history at that time, $1.65 million to be awarded for different achievements.  Our of 13 teams that qualified for the actual airborne event, only for made it to the Charles M. Schulz Airport.  Two were battery-powered, one a hybrid, and was powered by the ubiquitous Rotax internal combustion engine. Although only three of the entrants qualified as fully electric or hybrid vehicles, the Challenge became a series of chances to see aviation’s future. Day One was devoted to technical inspections and weighing the aircraft.  (Original Report) Your editor was privileged to meet and interview the project leaders, designers, and pilots of these aircraft.  That was a short course in beyond belief thinking.  We will be sharing more videos from the event over the next few days. NASA contributed a top-notch media team to document …

Sustainability at AeroExpo2025: Klaus Ohlmann’s Stemme Hybrid

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Klaus Ohlmann is legendary in his accomplishments.  Having surmounted Mount Everest in a sailplane, traversed the Alps and the Andes in sailplanes and battery- and solar-powered craft, and contributed to wave soaring studies, he is ready to set a new type of record – one with a Stemme hybrid power system. In its sadly last post, https://www.electric-flight.eu/ left us with this news.  “With a modified Stemme hybrid S10, Klaus Ohlmann wants to fly 2000 kilometers (1,243 miles).”  The publication missed its headline by 1,000 kilometers (620 miles), which would make Ohlmann’s goal 1,864 miles, requiring up to 20 hours of leisurely travel.   Stemme has long relied on a unique distribution of power components, with a fossil-fuel-powered engine behind the pilots, a shaft passing from its power takeoff between the two occupants to a forward-mounted, cleverly-concealed propreller tucked into a sliding nose cose.  The layout is similar to that of the P-39, and later P-63 Bell Airacobras of WWII.  Despite the …

Dornier DS-2C – a Hydrogen Hydroavian

Dean Sigler Announcements, Electric Powerplants, Fuel Cells, hydrogen, Hydrogen Fuel, Sustainable Aviation Leave a Comment

What happens when a major aircraft company buys an interesting seaplane and repowers it with hydrogen?  Dornier, a long-time German producer of often brilliant aircraft, acquired the rights to a two-seat amphibian, the Flywhale FW650, as of January 1, 2022.  Originally powered with a Rotax engine, the craft will be repowered with an electric motor and a variety of possible battery, hydrogen, or hybrid power sources. Redesignated the Dornier DS-C2, it becomes part of the Seawings division and could live not only in the world of unlimited runways, but become a true eVTOL (electric Vertical Take Off and Landing) airplane, the DS-2C-X. The standard Light Sport Aircraft configuration can carry two at 250 kilometers per hour (155 mph), over a distance of 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) –  impressive enough. It can operate in sea states up to 2 (Sea state 2 includes waves of 0.6 to 0.9 feet and winds up to 8 to 10 knots, or 9.2 to 11.5 mph.) …

Electric Air Racing News

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Electric Air Racing is a modern take on an age-old idea.  Ever since people tamed horses, the idea of comparing their speeds became important.  Boats, cars, and aircraft followed the same path.  As with horses, the idea that “racing improves the breed” held sway.  Now, one Australian company and a major aeronautical organization hope to make air racing a path to the future. Alauda Aeronautics Matt Pearson founded the Airspeeder  racing program with the credo, “Competition accelerates progress.”  Toward that end, he partnered with Alauda, an Australian firm, to develop a group of high-performance aerial racers.  Looking somewhat like the vehicles flown by Luke Skywalker in the Star Wars films, the “flying cars” certainly evoke a performance image. The team recently flew three Airspeeders via remote control with First Person View (FPV) technology helping ground-based pilots control their craft around a Alauda unabashedly uses the term “flying cars,” as in, “Racing to deliver a revolution in personal air mobility so …

Antares, FES, and AdvanTec Create E-ROP Hybrid

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E-ROP is a multi-party program using an Antares self-launching sailplane.  FES and Adventec have crafted a hybrid version of the Antares 20e with a front electric sustainer (FES) motor in place of its tall mast-mounted motor.  An incremental program, E-ROP begins by replacing the retractable unit with an FES motor on the nose.  This reduces the drag created by the motor being raised into position and simplifies operation. The FES Antares flew for the first time on April 19 with Klaus Ohlmann at the helm.  Ulrich Bronet recorded this short video. Under development since 2016, E-ROP will benefit from an advanced battery package from research partner AdvanTec GmbH.  According to the project, “The concept provides for batteries in the fuselage and wings, which have an energy capacity of 22 [kilowatt-hours] at a total take-off weight of 650 [kilograms] (1,433 pounds) MTOM (Maximum Take Off Mass).”  22 kWh is about one-fifth of a Tesla battery package and will allow up to 450 …

Antares Upgrades to RED.3 Batteries

Dean Sigler Announcements, Batteries, Electric Aircraft Components, Electric Powerplants, Sustainable Aviation 1 Comment

An airplane that’s a seasoned veteran gets even better with the new SAFT RED.3 batteries.   At the Grenchen, Switzerland Electrifly-in Lange Antares spread their wings over 21 meters of display space each.  Klaus Ohlmann flew the latest E model from the manufacturer and a hybrid e-Rop from AdvanTec GmbH was on static display.  These airplanes are evolutions of the original design, which goes back to 2003.  SAFT’s new batteries will make the plane even better. Richard Van Grunsven, founder of Van’s Aircraft, granted your editor an interview in 2010 and demonstrated the motor’s operation on his Antares.  The same 42 kilowatt (56.3 horsepower) motor is retained in the current version, but batteries have become better in the last 11 years.   http://cafe.foundation/blog/richard-van-grunsvens-antares-20e/ As your editor reported then “Two carbon-fiber propeller blades attach to beautifully machined fittings on the rotating cylinder, and provide enough thrust to give the 460 kilogram (1,014 pound) ship a 4.4 meter per second (866 feet per …

Electrifly-in: Grenchen 2021

Dean Sigler Announcements, Batteries, Electric Powerplants, GFC, Hybrid Aircraft, Hydrogen Fuel, Solar Power, Sustainable Aviation Leave a Comment

Electrifly-in, formerly the Smartflyer Challenge, is on for September 11 and 12, 2021, in Grenchen, Switzerland.  The event, even held in 2020 despite the pandemic, is a compact showing of the latest in electrical aircraft and technology.  Watch as this 2019 video as a Φnix (the Greek letter phi + nix –a clever bilingual pun) takes off, circuits the area and makes a landing – all the time flying with other electric aircraft. In this flight, you can see the compact airport (including a grass landing strip) and a lovely setting for a great event.  Started as the Smartflyer Challenge* in 2016, the gathering has changed its name to be more inclusive. Last year, even with travel limitations imposed worldwide, saw a healthy turnout of all-electric flyers, ranging from ultralight electric “trikes” to cross-country tourers. From 12 to 50 Kilowatts and Beyond Powering a large number of machines on last year’s flight line, Eck-Geiger Engineering makes a range of motors …

e-Genius Gets Around Quickly, Inspires Others

Dean Sigler Electric Powerplants, GFC, Hybrid Aircraft, Solar Power, Sustainable Aviation 1 Comment

Birds of the Same Tail Feather Configuration Prof. Dipl.-Ing. Rudolf Voit-Nitschmann (emeritus) had a lot to do with designing the 1996 Icare II solar-powered sailplane and the 2011 e-Genius.  Icare II set several world records in its 20 years, most under the guidance of pilot Klaus Ohlmann.  e-Genius won the award for being the quietest airplane at the Green Flight Challenge held in Santa Rosa, California, and was a close second to Pipistrel’s G4 in passenger miles per gallon (equivalent) energy use. Dipl.-Ing. Voit-Nitschmann was kind enough to explain to your editor how the propeller center came to be at the top of the tail on e-Genius.  It’s a similar configuration to that on the Icare II*, and one he had found to provide the greatest undisturbed air to the propeller and the least added friction drag, since only the lower part of the blade crossed in front of the upper part of the vertical fin and rudder.  This configuration …

SmartFlyer Challenge: Electric Airplanes Fill Swiss Skies

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There are few times one will see more than one electric airplane at the same place – outside of perhaps, Friedrichshafen’s e-Flight Expo every year.  But to see them flying at the same field on the same day is an even grander delight.  That happened September 9 and 10 at Grenchen, Switzerland.  Grenchen hosted the world’s first all-electric fly-in – the SmartFlyer Challenge.  It drew an appreciable number of electric aircraft of all sizes and types despite the clouds and rain that kept some from scaling the mountains. An Electric Three-Plane Formation Flight The Siemens-powered Magnus e-Fusion from the Czech Republic, the electric Phoenix motorglider, and Stuttgart University’s e-Genius all flew formation with a Piper L-4, a World War Two liaison aircraft and camera plane. They joined a commendable group of aircraft on the field.  All seemed to fly as much as possible during the event, including drag racing a Tesla S sedan down the runway. Expatica.com noted, “Pilot Frank …