Luka Žnidaršič of FES (Front Electric Sustainer) directed your editor to the following. His company displayed at Aero 2014 in Friedrichshafen, Germany during that stellar event, showing off the latest sailplane to use their integrated power system. “We are glad to inform you that during Aero 2014 we presented our new Ventus 2cxa FES. We performed installation in cooperation with Schempp-Hirth manufacturer. This is first FES system installed on German type of sailplane. Luka adds, “We made this development in cooperation with Schempp-Hirth who also recognized potential of the FES system. The new Ventus 2cxa FES is available for about 100.000€+VAT taxes and options.” “Pictures show more than words!” Both Luka and his father Matija started as model aircraft builders and transferred that love of aircraft to real sailplanes; Luka has over 2,200 hours in more than 30 sailplane types, and Matija has about 3,000 gliding hours. They used their considerable talents and degrees to help design their own motors, controllers, …
Ingenious e-Genius
At the third annual Electric Aircraft Symposium in San Carlos, California in 2009, designers from Germany and Slovenia showed their plan for a hydrogen-powered aircraft called Hydrogenius. Today, a newly constructed, battery-powered “e-Genius” (developed along parallel lines with Hydrogenius) will be Eric Raymond’s mount for the July 10-17 Green Flight Challenge in Santa Rosa, California. Eric writes that “e-Genius is now flying, and has reached the required 100 mph.” Hydrogenius’s original layout, replaced for the Green Flight Challenge with a simpler lithium-polymer battery-only system. 1 – Hydrogen tank 2 – Radiator 3 – Stack Module (Hydrogen Fuel Cell) 4 – System Module (Hydrogen Fuel Cell) 5 – Power Distribution Unit 6 – LiPoly Battery to start the fuel cell system 7 – Total Rescue System e-Genius’s 60 kilowatt (80.4 horsepower) motor is claimed to be able to fly 100 kilometers (62 miles) on the electrical equivalent of a mere 0.6 liters (0.16 gallons) of gasoline, or about 392 miles per gallon. As …