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 …
