It’s hard to believe that the Solar Impulse has been on its Cross America tour since May 3, but its early touchdown at New York City’s John F. Kennedy International Airport late Saturday night was cause for elation on at least two counts. First, as the Solar Impulse team points out, “For the first time a plane capable of flying day and night powered exclusively by solar energy has crossed the USA from the West to the East Coasts without using a single drop of fuel.” As we love to point out, though, it’s not the first time a solar-powered airplane has made the trip. Eric Raymond did it in 21 hops in 1990 in Sunseeker 1, using the technology available at the time – which did not allow overnight flights. Both trips are literally epic voyages, nonetheless. Second, for several anxious hours the flight, the airplane and even the fate of pilot Andre’ Borschberg, Solar Impulse’s co-founder and CEO, …
Aero-PC and SolarWorld, Ford and SunPower Light Up Transportation
With electric aircraft showing the possibilities of a greener future, it’s rewarding to see similar efforts to produce cleaner, off-the-grid ground transportation. Calin Gologan had a gala week at AirVenture, speaking at the Electric Aircraft World Symposium to detail his Elektra One Green Flight Challenge entrant and to introduce his Elektra Two and Four two-seat and four-seat, respectively, electric aircraft. He was awarded the Lindbergh Electric Aircraft Prize (LEAP) for the quietest electric aircraft by Erik Lindbergh, Charles’ grandson. Saturday, July 30 saw Norbert Lorenzen, test pilot for PC-Aero and owner of a flight school near Landshut, Germany, take Elektra One for a spin around the Oshkosh airspace. Note Molt Taylor’s Aerocar zipping by between the 15 and 18 second marks on the video. On the ground, the airplane was dollied out for takeoff,“overseen” by the capable Howard Handelman, who also noted something that Gologan had confirmed to Brien Seeley, President of the CAFE Foundation. The SolarWorld solar cells on …
Making Good Use of “Underutilized Space”
Airports and air bases occupy lots of space, especially if they have crossing runways. The acreage consumed to protect the public from the long narrow strips of asphalt or concrete can be considerable. Making good use of the “waste” space might make airports more economically viable. Arizona’s Luke Air Force Base is planning to use its space to generate electricity through solar power, just as Nevada’s Nellis Air Force Base has since 2007. According to the Associated Press, the “Arizona Public Service Co. has announced plans for the largest solar installation on U.S. government property.” The 15-megawatt solar power plant will be 1 mW larger than the system at Nellis, and will be online by next summer. 52,000 tracking solar panels located on 101 acres on the Base will supply about 50 percent of the facility’s electrical needs, or the equivalent required for 3,750 Arizona homes. The project will create 550 jobs and remove 19,000 tons of carbon dioxide emissions per year, according to …