A Tale of Three Pauls

Dean Sigler Uncategorized 3 Comments

Dr. Paul Robertson lectures at Cambridge University’s Engineering Department, and Paul Dewhurst serves as Director and Chief Flying Instructor at Flylight Airsports, Ltd.  The two Pauls made simultaneous takeoffs March 1, 2009 in Britain’s first two electric aircraft.   A third Paul, Welsh by name, acted as certification engineer for the effort. Dr. Robertson took to the skies in a Dragonfly hang glider powered by a Geiger/Eck 10kW motor/controller/propeller combination, while Dewhurst became skyborne in a Lazair ultralight propelled by a pair of Plettenberg Predator 12 kW (peak output) model airplane motors.  This testbed in particular reflects Dr. Roberton’s studies toward the constuction of a sub-115 kg electric twin called Hummingbird.  His PowerPoint presentation shows the mathematics of powering such a craft on model aircraft motors, the batteries required, and the anticipated and tested thrust for successful performance. The fact that practical outcomes matched mathematical projections attests to the care involved in his analysis. The presentation provides a good model for others who …