Air Plane Photos 2013: Electric Airplanes

Electric Airplanes

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An electric aircraft is an aircraft that runs on electric motors rather than internal combustion engines, with electricity coming from fuel cells, solar cells, ultracapacitors, power beaming,[1] or batteries.

Currently flying electric aircraft are mostly experimental demonstrators, including manned and unmanned aerial vehicles. Electrically powered model aircraft have been flown since the 1970s, with one report in 1957.[2]

In 1883 Gaston Tissandier was the first to use electric motors in airship propulsion.[3] The following year, Charles Renard and Arthur Krebs flew La France with a more powerful motor.[3]

Nikola Tesla envisaged using electrically powered aircraft, powered by beams from the ground or the ionosphere.[citation needed]

Electric motors have been used for model fixed-wing aircraft since from at least 1957, with a challenged claim from 1909.[4]

In 1964 William C. Brown demonstrates on CBS News with Walter Cronkite a model helicopter that receives all of the power needed for flight from a microwave beam.[5]

In 1973, Fred Militky and Heino Brditschka converted an HB-3 to an electric aircraft. Heino flew it for 14 minutes that same year.[6]

In 2007 the non-profit CAFE Foundation held the first Electric Aircraft Symposium in San Francisco.[7] The first electric registered aircraft makes its first flights the 2007-12-23 : BL1E "Electra" (F-PMDJ).[8]

In 2009, a team from the Turin Polytechnic University made a conversion of a Pioneer Alpi 300. It flew 250 km/h for 14 minutes.[9]

By 2011 the use of electric power for aircraft was gaining momentum. At AirVenture in that year the Electric Aircraft World Symposium was held and attracted wide attention. It was sponsored by GE Aviation and included presentations by US Air Force, NASA, Sikorsky Aircraft, Argonne National Labs and the US Federal Aviation Administration.[10]

Experimental projects[edit]

1970s and 1980s[edit]

Sunrise[edit]

The 27 lb (12 kg) unmanned AstroFlight Sunrise, the result of an ARPA contract, made the world's first solar-powered flight from Bicycle Lake, a dry lakebed on the Fort Irwin Military Reservation, on 4 November 1974. The improved Sunrise II flew on 27 September 1975 at Nellis Air Force Base.[11][12][13]

Solar Riser[edit]

The world’s first official flight in a solar powered, man carrying aircraft took place on April 29, 1979. The Mauro Solar Riser was built by Larry Mauro and was based on the UFM Easy Riser biplane hang glider. The aircraft used photovoltaic cells that produced 350 watts at 30 volts, which charged a Hughes 500 helicopter battery, which in turn powered the electric motor. The aircraft was capable of powering the motor for 3 to 5 minutes, following a 1.5-hour charge, enabling it to reach a gliding altitude.[14]

Solar One[edit]

The Solar-Powered Aircraft Developments Solar One was designed by David Williams under the direction of Freddie To, an architect and member of the Kremer prize committee and produced by Solar-Powered Aircraft Developments. A motor-glider type aircraft originally built as a pedal powered airplane to attempt the Channel crossing, the airplane proved too heavy to be successfully powered by human power and was then converted to solar power,[15] using an electric motor driven by batteries that were charged before flight by a solar cell array on the wing.[16] The maiden flight of Solar One took place at Lasham Airfield; Hampshire on June 13, 1979.[17]

Gossamer Penguin and Solar Challenger[edit]

The Gossamer Penguin, a smaller version of the human powered Gossamer Albatross was completely solar powered. A second prototype, the Solar Challenger, flew 262 km (163 mi) from Paris to England.[18] On 7 July 1981, the aircraft, under solar-power, flew 163 miles from Cormeilles-en-Vexin Airport near Paris across the English Channel to RAF Manston near London, flying for 5 hours and 23 minutes. Designed by Dr. Paul MacCready the Solar Challenger set an altitude record of 14,300 feet.[19]

MIT Monarch and Monarch-B[edit]

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology Monarch[20] aircraft project was a series of two aircraft designed to win the Kremer prize for human powered aircraft speed record. The aircraft used an electrical motor along with batteries which were charged by the pedalling action of an athlete piloting the aircraft.[21]

Aerovironment Bionic Bat[edit]

The Aerovironment Bionic Bat was an aircraft built to compete for the Kremer Speed Challenge, one in a series of Kremer prize offerings administered by the Royal Aeronautical Society. It incorporated an electric motor that doubled as a generator while on the ground, with the pilot's pedaling action charging ni-cad batteries. The stored energy was used to supplement pedal power from the pilot during record attempts. In 1984, Bionic Bat won two segments of the Kremer Speed Challenge.[22]

Solair 1[edit]

The human piloted Solair 1 was developed by Günther Rochelt and based on a Hans Farner canard design.[2][23] It employed 2499 wing-mounted solar cells giving an output of between 1.8 kilowatts (kW), equivalent to approximatlly 2.4 horsepower (hp), and 2.2 kW (3.0 hp). The aircraft first flew at Unterwössen, Germany on 21 August 1983.[2] It flew for 5 hours and 41 minutes, "mostly on solar energy and also thermals".[2] The aircraft is now displayed at the German Museum in Munich.[23] The newly developed piloted Solair II made its first flight in May 1998 and further test flights that summer but the propulsion system overheated too fast.[23] Development stopped when Günther Rochelt suddenly died in September 1998.

NASA Pathfinder and Helios[edit]

NASA's Pathfinder and Helios were a series of solar and fuel cell system-powered unmanned aircraft. AeroVironment, Inc. developed the vehicle under NASA's Environmental Research Aircraft and Sensor Technology program.[24][25]

1990s[edit]

Solar Flight's Sunseeker flying over Southern California's high desert

Sunseeker[edit]

During the summer of 1990, the solar powered airplane Sunseeker, piloted by Eric Raymond, became the first solar powered airplane to cross the United States.[26] It used a small battery pack charged by solar cells on the wings for takeoff, and then was able to fly directly on solar power.[27]

The Sunseeker II, built in 2002, was updated in 2005–2006 with a more powerful motor, larger wing, lithium battery packs and updated control electronics.[28] As of Dec, 2008 it was the only manned solar powered airplane in flying condition and was flown regularly by Solar Flight.[27] In 2009 it became the first solar-powered aircraft to cross the Alps, 99 years after the first crossing of the Alps by an aircraft.[29][30]

Soaring[edit]

Test Flight of Soaring in 1994

Summary of Configuration and Performance Parameter of “Soaring”

China's first solar powered aircraft "Soaring" was designed and built by Danny H. Y. Li and Zhao Yong in 1992. The body and wings are hand-built predominantly of carbon fiber, Kevlar and wood. The design uses winglets to increase the effective wing span and reduce induced drag.[31][32]

Icaré II[edit]

The German solar powered aircraft "Icaré II" was designed and built by the institute of aircraft design (Institut für Flugzeugbau) of the University of Stuttgart in 1996. The leader of the project and often pilot of the aircraft is Rudolf Voit-Nitschmann the head of the institute. The design won the Berblinger prize in 1996, the EAA Special Achievement Award in Oshkosh, the Golden Daidalos Medal of the German Aeroclub and the OSTIV-Prize in France in 1997.[33]

LF20[edit]

Built by Lange Flugzeugbau GmbH, the LF20[34] was a heavily modified DG800. First flown on 7 May 1999, the aircraft was used as a flying testbed and technology demonstrator. Powered by NiMh cells and using the same EA42 propulsion system as the later Antares 20E, the LF20 could climb 1725 m on one charge.

2000s[edit]

Antares 20E and 23E[edit]

The Antares 20E is an electric, self-launching 20-meter sailplane with a 42-kW DC/DC brushless motor and lithium-ion batteries. It can climb up to 3,000 meters with fully charged cells.[35] The first flight was in 2003. The Antares 20E was the first aircraft with an electric propulsion system to obtain a certificate of airworthiness. In 2011 the aircraft won the 2011 Berblinger competition,[36] an ambitious aerial challenge for “green” aircraft. The Antares 23E is a 23-meter version of the 20E featuring a wider range of wing-loading and higher performance, using the same propulsion system as the 20E and Arcus E. The Antares 23E first flew in December 2011, with series production commencing in early 2012.[citation needed]

Alan Cocconi and the SoLong[edit]

In 2005 Alan Cocconi, who founded the California (USA) electric-propulsion research company AC Propulsion, flew, with the assistance of several other pilots, an unmanned airplane named "SoLong" for 48 hours non-stop, propelled entirely by solar energy. This was the first such around-the-clock flight, on energy stored in the batteries mounted on the plane.[37][38]

Solar Impulse[edit]

Solar Impulse made its first "flea hop" test flight on December 2009

Main article: Solar Impulse Project

The first short-hop (350 m) test flight of the Solar Impulse prototype was made on 3 December 2009.[39]

In its present configuration it has a wingspan of 210 ft (64 m), weighs 3,500 lb (1,588 kg) and is powered by four 10-horsepower (7 kW) electric motors. The aircraft has over 11,000 solar cells on its wings and horizontal stabilizer. Power from the solar cells is stored in lithium polymer batteries and used to drive 3.5-metre (11 ft) propellers turning at a speed of 200–400 rpm. Take-off speed is 19 knots (35 km/h) and cruising speed is 30 kn (56 km/h).[40][41]

The aircraft had its first high flight on 7 April 2010, when it flew to an altitude of 1,200 meters (3,937 feet) in a 1.5-hour flight on battery power alone. The Solar Impulse team is planning to use a second two-place aircraft to circumnavigate the globe in 2015.[42]

The aircraft first flew on purely solar power, charging its batteries in flight, on 28 May 2010[43]

On 8 July 2010 it completed the first manned 24-hour flight completely powered by solar power.[44][45][46]

On 5 June 2012, the Solar Impulse successfully completed an intercontinental flight, the first-ever by a solar plane, flying a 19-hour trip from Madrid, Spain, to Rabat, Morocco.[47][48]

On 23 May 2013 the aircraft completed the second leg of its trip across the United States and landed at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport. This set a new world distance record for solar aviation.[49][50]

Electravia BL1E Electra[edit]

French BL1E Electra F-PMDJ : the first registered electric aircraft in the world. First Flight in Dec, 2007

The Electravia team, with the APAME Association, first flew its "Electra" electric-powered open-cockpit airplane on Sunday, 23 December 2007 at Aspres sur Buech airfield, Hautes Alpes, France. Test pilot Christian Vandamme, Electravia technical manager, flew the strut-equipped aircraft for 48 minutes, covering 50 km (31 mi). The BL1E "Electra" is powered by an 18-kW (24 hp) disk-brushed electric engine driven by a 47 kg (104 lb) KOKAM Lithium-Polymer battery power pack.[51][52] The BL1E "Electra" is the first registered aircraft in the world powered by electric engine and with batteries. It was the first electric realization of the French company Electravia.

Electravia Electro Trike[edit]

E-Trike : French electric delta trike

The Electravia Electro Trike is a single seater delta trike with an electric propulsion system from Electravia. First flight in June 2008 in Aspres sur Buëch, Hautes Alpes, France. Engine GMPE 102 of 26 hp. The 3 kWh pack of Lithium-Polymer batteries allows 1 hour of flight with ElectroTrike. Charge of a 3 kWh battery takes 1h30.[53]

First manned AA-battery-powered aircraft[edit]

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. and undergraduates at the Tokyo Institute of Technology teamed up to build an aircraft powered by 160 AA battery cells and successfully flew it for a distance of 391 meters (1,283 ft) in July, 2006.[54]

Boeing-FCD Project[edit]

In 2008, The Boeing Fuel Cell Demonstrator achieved straight-level flight on a manned mission powered by a hydrogen fuel cell.[55]

The FCD (Fuel Cell Demonstrator) is a project led by Boeing that uses a Diamond HK-36 Super Dimona motor glider as a test bed for a fuel cell powered light airplane research project.[56]

Successful test flights took place in February and March 2008.[56]

Boeing's partners in the project are Intelligent Energy of Britain (fuel-cell); Diamond Aircraft of Austria (Airframe); Spanish Sener (control system); Spanish Aerlyper (integrate motor with airframe); Advanced Technology Products, a U.S. company (motor, batteries, flight testing).[57]

QinetiQ Zephyr[edit]

The QinetiQ Zephyr is a lightweight solar-powered unmanned aerial vehicle engineered by the United Kingdom defence firm, QinetiQ. As of 23 July 2010 it holds the endurance record for an unmanned aerial vehicle of over 2 weeks (336 hours).[58]

It is of carbon fiber-reinforced polymer construction, the 2010 version weighing 50 kg (110 lb)[59] (the 2008 version weighed 30 kg (66 lb)) with a span of 22.5 metres[59] (the 2008 version had 18 metres (59 feet)). It uses sunlight to charge lithium-sulphur batteries during the day, which power the aircraft at night. The aircraft has been designed for use in observation and communications relay.[60]

The 2008 Zephyr version flew for 82 hours, reaching 61,000 foot in altitude in July 2008, the then unofficial world record for the longest duration unmanned flight. In July 2010 the 2010 version of the Zephyr made a world record unmanned aerial vehicle endurance flight of 336 hours, 22 minutes and 8 seconds (more than two weeks) and also set an altitude record of 70,000 feet.[61][62]

SkySpark[edit]

Skyspark in flight 2009

The SkySpark is a joint project of engineering company DigiSky and Polytechnic University of Turin. The two-seat Pioneer Alpi 300 has a 75 kW (101 hp) brushless electric motor powered by lithium polymer batteries. The aircraft achieved a world record of 250 km/h (155 mph) for a human-carrying electric aircraft on 12 June 2009.[63][64]

Green Pioneer Ι[edit]

Test Flight of “Green Pioneer I” in 2004

The Green Pioneer solar powered aircraft research programme was announced at the 4th China International Aviation and Aerospace Exhibition in 2002. The experimental programme was intended to provide research data for future Chinese solar powered aircraft. The programme was run by New Concept Aircraft (Zhuhai), the China Aviation Industry Development Research Center, and China Academy of Space Technology. The project leader and chief designer was Danny H. Y. Li.