On to the North Sea, Electrically

Dean Sigler Batteries, Electric Powerplants, Sustainable Aviation Leave a Comment

Elektroweltrekordflug A team in Switzerland attempted an elektroweltrekordflug, an electric world record flight, hoping to set seven world records in one 700-kilometer trip. Flying a new, certified Pipistrel Velis, the team of Marco Buholzer and co-pilot Morell Westermann hoped to find their way into the Guinness Book of World Records for the following: • Lowest energy consumption (kWh / 100 km -62 miles) over 700km (434 miles) • Highest average speed over 700 km (km / h) • Highest flight altitude ever reached with an electric aircraft (meters – 3.280 feet – above main sea level) • Fastest climbing performance from 0-1000m / 1000-2000m / 2000-3000m (m / s) • Fastest average speed over 100km (km / h) • Smallest …

SAS 2019 – Gabriel DeVault’s Clean Commute and Electric Adventures

Dean Sigler Batteries, Electric Powerplants, Hydrogen Fuel, Sustainable Aviation 2 Comments

An electric ultralight developer brought some hopeful notes to the Sustainable Aviation Symposium audience at the University of California Berkeley.  Gabriel DeVault is the powertrain development specialist for ZeroAvia, bringing hydrogen power to regional air commuting.  He does a lot of commuting in his own electric aircraft, showing that one doesn’t need huge investments in aircraft and infrastructure to enjoy green flight. The Paul MacCready Honorary Lecture: Doing More with Less, Right Now! An Aerospace Engineer and EV systems architect, Gabriel was a founding member of Zero Motorcycles, running R&D for the world’s largest and most successful electric motorcycle company.  He now works for ZeroAvia, a firm in Hollister, California working with a hydrogen-powered electric Piper Malibu as the first …

The I.D.E.A.L. Becomes Real with JabirWatt

Dean Sigler Electric Powerplants, SAS, Sustainable Aviation Leave a Comment

Dr. David Ullman taught mechanical engineering and project management for over three decades, and his books on the mechanical design process are consistently sought after.  His current project, JabirWatt, is hangared at his home in Independence, Oregon, and combines the internal combustion propulsion of its Jabiru engine with the lift-enhancing addition of four electric ducted fan motors on the wings.  A project partner, Vince Homer, lives nearby on the airport.  Both have hangars filled with things of genius, including the well-instrumented wind tunnel on which David tests his ideas (or I.D.E.A.L – Integrated Distributed Electric-Augmented Lift). Slightly different from the approach promised in his presentation at last year’s Sustainable Aviation Symposium, the modified Jabiru sacrifices its rear seat for a …

Sustainable Aviation Symposium 2019

Dean Sigler Announcements, SAS, Sustainable Aviation Leave a Comment

The 2019 Sustainable Aviation Symposium is moving to a new date and location – and a new inclusiveness. The University of California, Berkeley Institute for Transportation Studies (ITS) will host the 2019 Sustainable Aviation Symposium (SAS) on October 7-8 of 2019.  SAS 2019 is focused on safe, quiet, electric aviation solutions to the most pressing problems of our age: climate change, urban surface gridlock, and the need for integrated community and urban planning to enable high proximity aviation at meaningful scale. Dr. Jasenka Rakas, founder and head of the Airport Design Studio at the University of California at Berkeley, and Sustainable Aviation Foundation founder and President Dr. Brien Seeley will co-chair the meeting that will present a challenging review of aviation’s …