Winning the LEAP and Berblinger Prize

Winning the LEAP and Berblinger Prize

Writing for Plane & Pilot magazine,
Jim Lawrence opined,
“As an industry, electric
flight is still in toddler mode. Batteries
provide, pound for pound, a mere fraction
of the energy density of gasoline.
Therein, as the Bard said, lies the rub:
The culprit is weight, simply because one
pound of avgas has roughly 40 times the
energy delivery of a pound of battery. For
electric aircraft (and other vehicles) to
become common, battery efficiency will
need to double, then double again, and
double again.

“To spur recognition and development,
several major awards and
competitions now offer substantial
money prizes. On the last day of this
year’s Aero e-flight-expo in Germany,
the Berblinger Flight Competition
divided |100,000 ($142,604)
among three proven aircraft, each
with a unique application of electric
power: the elegant, single-seat
Lange Antares 20E self-launcher
sailplane (the world’s first certified electric);
Eric Raymond’s record-setting,
solar-powered Sunseeker; and Manfred
Ruhmer’s Elektro-Swift, an ultralight
flying wing with streamlined pod and
folding pusher prop.

“The Berblinger competition is an ecoflight
competition that involves flying
around a specified course, as well as an
evaluation by judges.

“The 20-meter-span Antares was cited
as ‘the only [electric] aircraft that fulfills
the strict EASA (European Aviation
Safety Agency) certification requirements…
life-expectancy of 20 years or
3,000 charge cycles.’ More than 70 production
Antares have been delivered.

“Of the three winners, only the slender,
graceful Sunseeker is not for sale,
yet. It flies solely on electricity generated
by wing-borne super lightweight solar
cells. Raymond is currently working in
Slovenia on the 23-meter span (75 feet)
Sunseeker Duo 2-seater, which will eventually
be marketed.

“The Elektro Swift, produced by Italian
hang glider company Icaro, takes
another tack. It’s a highly optimized,
single-pilot, lightweight soaring machine
based on an excellent-performing
rigid-wing hang glider.

“Also presented at Aero were Eric
Lindbergh’s LEAP (Lindbergh Electric
Aircraft Prize) awards. Three categories
(and $60,000 in prize money)
went to the Solar Impulse for Outstanding
Achievement; Pipistrel Taurus
Electro G2 for Best Electric
Aircraft (it’s the first production 2-
seater electric; and Best Propulsion
System, to LZ for its FES (Front End
Sustainer) folding prop/motor retrofit
package for sailplanes.”

– COURTESY OF JIM LAWRENCE,
LIGHT-SPORT-HANGAR-FLYIN.BLOGSPOT.COM
| PLANE & PILOT’S WEBSITE: WWW.PLANEANDPILOTMAG.COM/AIRCRAFT/LSAS.