Eric Lindbergh, grandson of Charles A. Lindbergh, awarded the LEAP Prize to Pipistrel’s Ivo Boscarol at the just-finished Aero General Aviation convention in Friedrichshafen, Germany. *** The 3rd annual e-Flight gathering took place there also, and Lindbergh’s Best Electric Aircraft award went to Pipistrel’s Taurus Electro. *** There were some notable challengers in the category and three finalists: the Taurus, the Electric Cri-Cri (power by Electravia), and Eric Raymond’s Sunseeker II solar airplane. *** Also awarded was the Best Electric Propulsion. The two finalists were the LZ Design FES (Front Engine Sustainer) system and the Rapid 200 Fuel Cell propulsion system from Polytechnic Torino. *** The LZ FES was the winner. *** The LEAP 2011 Outstanding Achievement Award went to Bertrand Piccard, Andre Borschberg and the Solar Impulse Team for its electric around-the-world project airplane. *** A romantic, and apt, spin on the awards is linking today’s electric pioneers to Lucky Lindy’s amazing transatlantic flight in 1927, which pretty much singlehandedly changed the global perception of aviation from a daredevil hobby or foolhardy mail delivery system to the common transportation, recreational and warfare tool it has become.
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Aero and e-Flight Expo… coming soon
Right after Sun ‘n Fun, the e-flight Expo kicks off for the third time at “Aero” in Friedrichshafen, Germany, April 13-April 16. *** Bunches of new aircraft and propulsion technologies along with the awarding of the Lindbergh Electric Aircraft Prize (LEAP) will mark the gathering of 550 exhibitors from 26 countries. *** The e-flight name stands for more than electrical flight innovations: ecological and evolutionary advances in flight regardless of their nature are embraced, although electric is certainly leading the show. *** Erik Lindbergh, grandson of Charles Lindbergh, will present his foundation’s prize for outstanding achievements in the development of electric flight. *** This year should bring several exciting advances in electric flight . I’ll be doing a broad story for Plane & Pilot magazine soon on what’s up and what’s coming. *** Another highlight of the Expo is “History for the Future of Flight”, a tantalizing assemblage of descendants and close relatives of last century’s aviation pioneers: Claude Dornier, Igor Sikorsky, Marcel Dassault and Count Zeppelin.
Flight Design Four-Seater to Debut at Aero 2011
Although not strictly LSA-centric, here’s a cool story: German-based Flight Design, maker of the top-selling CT-line of LSA, is coming out with a new, certified four-seat aircraft dubbed the C4. *** As the name unintentionally implies, Flight Design surely hopes to have an explosive impact on the General Aviation market, and we wish it success. *** The first full-size POC (proof of concept) version debuts in April at Europe’s big Aero 2011 airshow in Friedrichshafen, Germany. It’s a fabulous show, BTW, especially since lots of electric-powered aircraft will also be on display. I’ll do a wrap up of its coming events in the next couple days. *** Back to the C4: An interesting wrinkle is the company’s outreach for feedback on the merits of the airplane’s design. They’ll poll the show goers at Aero, but also will have an online survey for all of us to weigh in on.
Electric Waiex Makes Maiden Flight
Followers of these exciting pioneering days of electric-powered aircraft will be happy to know the all-electric Waiex just made its maiden flight at Wittman Field, home of Oshkosh Airventure — and Sonex Aircraft. *** John Monnett, head honcho of Sonex, which built the proof-of-concept version of its Waiex kit aircraft as part of its E-Flight Initiative, took the controls for the flight, tasked primarily with breaking out of ground effect to analyze in-flight system performance. *** After landing, John said, “Whew. It’s different! Lot of power.” *** The program started four years ago, and involves the airplane and Sonex’s development of its own proprietary motor, battery and speed controller — all vital parts of electric propulsion technology.Jeremy Monnett, John’s son and CEO/General Manager of Sonex, said the company will test the aircraft over the next several months and has already begun design work on the fourth version of the motor and twelfth version of the motor controller, which will be integrated into the current Waiex test bed.
Electric LSA as Primary Trainers?
One of the interesting speculations in a recent Wired magazine article on the E-Spyder electric ultralight being developed by Flight Design USA‘s (and FlightStar Aircraft‘s) Tom Peghiny invokes turning the lemony limited range of current early electric aircraft into the lemonade of broadly-applied commercial use — specifically in flight schools. *** The first production E-Spyder, soon to be sold for around $30K, will have no more than 30 minutes of range. Yuneec’s two-seat E430, now scheduled for 2012 debut, aims for a 2 hour flight endurance. *** But two hours clearly is more than enough for the typical local flight lesson. And with spare — and charged — battery pack modules ready to go to quick-swap out of electrical “fuel tanks”, flight schools could run training ops as easily as their current gas engined counterparts. *** No distracting engine noise and frame vibration; no lean/enrich fuel settings; no starter motors or smelly exhausts to deal with.
New Flight Design Offerings — Summer 2010
Flight Design has maintained their substantial lead in market share partly through a strategy of steady innovation. The German company and its U.S. partners regularly develop new products and introduce them with pizzazz. The company’s press conference and exhibit space at Oshkosh 2010 revealed this methodology. *** AirVenture visitors got to examine the CTLS Lite on amphibious floats. CTLS Lite — unveiled at a significantly-reduced price and dramatically-reduced empty weight — was introduced only three months earlier at Sun ‘n Fun. By Oshkosh 2010, that new model sat atop amphib floats that have already recorded a number of flights from water and land. *** The floats are from Clamar and were developed in concert with Flight Design distributor Airtime Aviation of Tulsa, Oklahoma, arguably the nation’s largest dealer of LSA. “The Clamar floats match the structure and the feel of the Flight Design planes,” said Tom Peghiny, president of importer Flight Design USA.
CT Hauls Ash
Here’s a hot item that should shake the dust off the notion that LSA are little toy airplanes. (Sorry, couldn’t resist.) *** With all the concern recently over ash cloud emissions from Iceland’s Eyjafajallawhatever volcano that disrupted global air transportation (and also revealed how precarious airline business models must if, as reported, they were in drastic financial jeopardy after only a few days of lost revenues), comes this fun and good news: *** A specially equipped Flight Design CT Supralite has been called into duty to measure atmospheric volcanic dust levels. *** The Supralite is a version of the European CT line that is popular here as the CTLS. *** Duesseldorf Technical University’s Department of Volcanology set up the ongoing study, including rigging the cabin with an oxygen system for higher altitude measurements. *** The program includes monitoring sulfur and particulate concentration in levels from 1,000 to 14,000 feet.
Flying Car Weight Bump; Electric Motorglider!
After taking a few days off to boat around Lake George, NY and shoot the Red Bull Air Race in New York City, it’s time to catch up on what’s been happening. *** The Transition “Roadable Aircraft” (I can’t help but prefer the chummier “flying car”) just got a weight exemption nod from FAA for an additional 110 pounds of MTOW (max takeoff weight). That nudges the vehicle up to 1,430 pounds. *** Terrafugia‘s request for the bump is meant to provide “…the structure and equipment necessary for compliance with the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS) which are not found in other Light Sport Aircraft.” *** They’re talking about things such as airbags, energy absorbing crumple zone and protective safety cage. *** Interestingly, Transition’s maker Terrafugia initially asked for an MTOW of 1,474 pounds. FAA in effect said “You can have what we gave the amphib makers, but no more.” *** This evokes the ultralight days, when the original 150 lb.
They’re Home! Twin Solo Round-the-World Flights
Two Swiss pilots embarked on a round-the-world flight on April 30 and 51 days later they are back home in Switzerland. Yannick Bovier, 37, and Francisco Agullo, 41, created an expedition they call “Azimut 270” to celebrate 100 years of aviation in Switzerland, a country known for its natural beauty and for being bankers to the world. *** The dynamic duo returned safely on Saturday, June 19 after crossing two oceans, confronting suspicious government officials for country overflight permission, paying high landing and permit fees, battling fatigue and loneliness, performing routine maintenance that comes with so many hours logged, plus having to watch what foods they consumed during flight legs that several times started before dawn and ended after dark. (On-board bathrooms have yet to be installed in the first Light-Sport Aircraft making such biological necessities a real challenge). *** Starting on the last day of April, the duo leaped the Atlantic to Brazil by May 8 and then crossed the Caribbean to Miami, Florida, USA by May 13.
Noteworthy LSA Project Shuts Down
I’ve had my head buried in pilot reports, image processing and P&P’s 2010 LSA Buyer’s Guide. Guides in particular never seem like they’ll be such a mind-numbing chore yet every time the same number of eyeball-jittering, typing finger-stiffening days roll by. Look for it in the Oshkosh issue, late June I think. *** There are 107 registered LSA models on the books. I couldn’t write about all of them so went with the top-selling 20, realizing even then some great airplanes get left out, so I factored in another couple dozen or so that stand a good chance of garnering market share in the future. *** Most if not all The Magnificent 107 remain in some state of production – a minor miracle given our sluggish economy. Even more new designs approach ASTM certification this year. Clearly it’s going to be a big pie — with a lot of small slices — for a long time to come.
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