What’s in a name? I like Glowfly, as a sort of double entendre. It could suggest “Go fly,” or it might refer to glow as in the spark employed to start a turbine engine. Yup, in case you didn’t see our earlier article by Dave Unwin, the newly renamed Glowfly is a jet-powered sailplane that uses electric-powered main wheel propulsion to assist. How’s that for — as my favorite British comedy troupe, Monty Python, used to say — “something completely different?”
Formerly called GloW (which nearly everyone was sure to misspell; certainly your smarty-pants smartphone would never get the capitalization right), Glowfly is moving along smartly. Here’s an update the folks at ProAirport sent along.
“The first public reveal — Project Glow becomes Glowfly,” glowed the ProAirport team.
In the last weekend of November at the Flyer Live show, ProAirport said, “We were overwhelmed by the number of visitors to the ProAirsport stand. It was truly fantastic to meet and talk to all these extremely interested people who had made a beeline for us after hearing and reading all about Project Glow [the project’s earlier name].” They reported that many interested pilots specifically came to see Glowfly live, as the show name suggests.
Boeing & Airbus Explore Light Aircraft
Recently I had a visit from my longtime friend and fellow aviation journalist, James Lawrence (photo). Among other mutual interests we share a passion for electric aircraft. We’ve each flown early examples and believe we see the future. From the headline above, you might interpret that to mean we anticipate electric airliners. We might … yet we recognize such developments remain distant. Or, do they?
The electric power action today is in very light aircraft — and some are available for you to buy and fly immediately. One example is Zigolo and I’ve reported on eSpyder. The reason is that light aircraft rule is singular: batteries, which weigh too much to allow heavier aircraft any range. The ending video explains why.
Unless you’ve been off-planet for a while, you know the development of improved battery technology is drawing many billions of dollars of investment. Cars, laptops, drones and many more products or industries want better batteries.
Affordable EMG … Electric Motor Glider
Update 8/8/14 — See our video interview about EMG at the end. An unpowered EMG — or Electric Motor Glider — from Adventure Aircraft has already taken 400 flights; it has also been fitted with a small electric motor … complete with carbon folding prop. A new Experimental Amateur Built (EAB) two seater is now taking shape and both variations were on exhibit at AirVenture 2014 in the newly named Fun Fly Zone (formerly Ultralight Area). EMG’s spark is provided by the dynamic duo of Brian and Carol Carpenter of Rainbow Aviation, well known for their LSA maintenance courses including the LSR-M (Light-Sport Repairman Maintenance) credential that has prepared many mechanics to do serious work on the growing fleet of LSA. EMG builder Adventure Aircraft is a subsidiary of Rainbow. Evidently this hard working pair aren’t fond of wasting many hours with something so mundane as sleep because the project is unfolding quite swiftly.
Electric Trike Soars (Literally) into Record Book
On Saturday, June 21 with a good crowd watching, an electric-powered trike took off and climbed into the FAI record book, or will after the organization’s normal process is followed. Let me state right up front that this story was recently released on AOPA’s ePilot written by our journalist friend Jim Moore. Despite appearing in the big member organization’s eNewsletter, the story was too cool for me to pass up for ByDanJohnson.com plus, as usual, I have an additional perspective to offer. The images are all courtesy of record-holder-to-be, Gary Davis. If you click the link above you can read Jim’s whole article; I encourage you to do so.
As Jim wrote Gary flipped the switch and flew, “a custom combination of a North Wing Stratus trike wing matched to an electric-powered trike frame designed by Randall Fishman.” We have a number of articles and videos about Randall’s pioneering work.
Pipistrel’s Flexible Sinus & Soarable Taurus
After Germany’s Aero 2013 event, we traveled to Pipistrel. It was our first visit to Slovenia, a country of four million with a section of the Alps running through it and a lovely route called the Emerald Trail to view the tall mountains. Slovenia proved a beautiful country that we’d love to visit again, but a leading reason to repeat is the presence of Pipistrel. This summer, the LSA and self-launched glider producer is in the news with their exchangeable wingtip Sinus Flex that transforms the long, shapely motorglider wings from a 50-foot span to a more hangar-manageable 40 feet. Using a single bolt, the change is said to take only five minutes and the unused tips can be stored in leather bags; the option price is $5,200. Buyers get both “a long range super-economic cruiser” and a “training aircraft,” noted Pipistrel. Sinus offers dual flight controls and a choice of either tailwheel or nosewheel gear, though the latter decision must be made at purchase.
Pipistrel Benchmarks, News, Developments
Known for their several lucrative wins at the NASA Challenge events, Pipistrel also logged market successes in the USA and around the world during 2012. The manufacturer with a range from weight shift trikes to electric-powered gliders to Light-Sport Aircraft to their four-seat Panther in development has become a company to watch. At the end of the year, the Slovenian company with a production facility in Italy had plenty to discuss.
Most notably, the company built their 500th aircraft from the Sinus/Virus family. These sleek machines include the Sinus (“Seen-Us”) motorglider, the Virus (“Veer-Us”) lightplane and shorter-winged version called the Virus SW. The company proudly announced, “Together with the other models and the powered-hang gliders, this means we have made well over one thousand flying devices!” Aircraft number 500 buyer was Charles Dalglish from Australia. The aircraft was handed over to distributor Michael Coates whose organization includes U.S. sales.This year Coates recorded his 100th delivery.
Pipistrel’s Twin Taurus… Could They Win Again?
Question: What looks like two motorgliders flying in really tight formation sharing an engine… er, a motor, literally between them? Can this Burt Rutan-looking aircraft (photo) win the big dough? And I mean seriously big money with a purse of $1,650,000! *** Called the Pipistrel Taurus G4, the prize-seeking aircraft rolled out of the Pipistrel factory in Slovenia for the first time recently. After posing briefly for the camera, G4 taxied away quietly under electric power for the start of the flight testing program. *** Pipistrel previously won a big NASA check with their Virus SW but the company has now taken a wholly different approach, based on rules which give seat-mile advantage to four seater models. *** “This aircraft is the first four-place electric aircraft to be flown in the world,” stated Pipistrel. Their Taurus Electro claimed to be the first two-place electric aircraft to be flown in the world four years earlier.
Triple Play: Pipistrel Wins SLSA Approvals
After a pause in new SLSA, Pipistrel burst onto the scene with multiple approvals, three at once reports Michael Coates, the importer for Pipistrel USA. We raced to get these placed on the SLSA List because it’s news, but also because FAA uses this list to verify new models before assigning them N-numbers. FAA Registration Branch checks to make sure company names and other info matches incoming applications; we had three calls last week from producers who requested minor changes to our SLSA List after the agency raised questions. *** Now that list swells to 118 models. Pipistrel, which makes long-winged models that soar well, got the Virus approved in both airplane and glider categories, no small achievement. They also gained approval for their Taurus motorglider. The Slovenian company — with production facilities in nearby Italy (partly an effort to adhere to the U.S. government’s bilateral agreement requirement… dull, yes, but important legally) — has been in the news for their electric airplanes and has announced a supersleek four seater, the Panthera.
Two New Categories Gain Approved LSA
Among new LSA approvals, some sneak by my observation post. Two new entrants make an interesting couple. One is our first-ever glider approval; the other is a new “Sport Pilot eligible” aircraft but not an SLSA. Curious? *** LSA Gliders of Wisconsin won a SLSA airworthiness certificate for the first glider meeting ASTM standards. They import the TST-14 Bonus, a lovely long-winged, self-launch motorglider of interest to soaring enthusiasts. The all-composite tandem two-seater can be a pure glider or take a boost from a Rotax 503; either way it claims a 40:1 glide angle. “It can be registered as a SLSA Glider or an experimental,” says importer Steve Meassick. *** Taking another tack is American Champion (ACA), whose 7EC is not a SLSA but a Standard Category production aimed at use by Sport Pilots or licensed pilots exercising those privileges (no medical needed). The maker of the Citabria (in which I logged my first 35 hours) to Super Decathlon now offers “The Champ” for $85,900 in basic form without flaps.