Tehachapi is a one-time railroad stop, 4,000 feet in the high mountain desert near Mojave, California. Trains don’t stop there very often these days, but multi-engined, two-mile-long bearers of cargo and commerce run over the tracks 50 times a day, making the long haul toward Bakersfield or Mojave. Hawley Bowlus helped build the Spirit of St. Louis and later taught the Lindberghs to fly sailplanes, with some lessons taking place in the high desert air above Tehachapi. Today, the once bare hills are covered with over 5,000 wind turbines, their giant rotors pointed into the prevailing westerlies. At the base of these hills, Mountain Valley Soaring has a base, and Jeff Byard has a hangar that hosts the annual meeting of the Experimental Soaring Association. Members gather to hear talks on the history, technology, and joy of soaring – and get in some flying between – or instead of – lectures . This year, the Labor Day weekend centered on …
Three Electric Airplanes Fly at AirVenture 2013
Electric aircraft have flown for the last six years at the big Oshkosh AirVenture airshow. Randall Fishman started the movement in 2007 showing his ElectraFlyer trike, and then flew his ElectraFlyer C, a single-seater derived from the Moni motorglider the following year. He won the 2008 Stan Dzik Memorial Award For Design Contribution “for the installation of the Electric-Motor power train” and the Dr. August Raspet Award. Last year he displayed his ElectricFlyer ULS, a twin-boom pusher with soaring capabilities. Others have followed, with Yuneec cruising overhead in 2010, winning the Lindbergh Electric Aircraft Prize (LEAP) prize for the craft’s “significant commercial potential” and “compelling design.” Dale Kramer, flying his twin-Joby-motored eLazair around the ultralight circuit in 2011, showed the potential for electric motors on an amphibian. Sonex Aircraft showed its Waiex in its e-Flight Initiative area in the Innovation Pavilion, looking essentially the same as over past years. the company has noted several test flights since its late December, …
AirVenture 2010 World Symposium At Eagle Hangar
An indication of the enthusiasm people are showing for the potential of electric flight, tickets are going fast for the Experimental Aircraft Association’s 2010 World Symposium on Electric Aircraft, part of AirVenture 2010. The WSEA will be held on Friday July 30 on the Eagle Hangar main stage. The morning session, titled, “The Dream of Flight,” runs from 9 a.m. to Noon. The lunch session, “The Voice of Experience: Electric Aircraft Builders,” runs from Noon to1:30 p.m., and the afternoon session, “Putting Vision to Practice,” runs from 1:30 to 4:30 p.m. According to the EAA, “Among the confirmed participants for the symposium are FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt; Electric Aircraft Corporation founder Randall Fishman; Yuneec founder Tian Yu; Sonex Aircraft founder John Monnett; and Earthstar Aircraft founder Mark Beierle, who displayed his eGull ultralight aircraft at AirVenture 2009. Commercial pilot and flight instructor Erik Lindbergh, grandson of aviation pioneer Charles Lindbergh and founder of the nonprofit Creative Solutions Alliance, will also be on …