Electric plane E-Fan

[Christophe]

There is also the Taurus G4 electric plane from the manufacturer Pipistrel

There is a 2nd UFO on the photos in addition to the G4!

Taurus-G4-002.jpg (47.37 KB) Viewed 5170 times

[moinsdewatt]

Volta, the conventional 100% electric helicopter, makes its first demonstration flight

AFP 19 Oct 2016

"Volta", a conventional 100% electric helicopter, made its first piloted demonstration flight on Wednesday at the Paris-Issy-les-Moulineaux heliport. The small aircraft flew for a few minutes a few meters above the ground, in the presence of the Minister of Environment and Energy Ségolène Royal.



The minister explained that she wanted to encourage "these technological leaps" considering that Volta was the "type of projects" she wished to support, in particular because of its "extremely strong educational dimension". "It is with technological breakthroughs that we will succeed in keeping global warming below 2 degrees", she continued, recalling that aviation represents more than 2% of global CO2 emissions.

The prototype - which was developed by the National School of Civil Aviation (Enac) and Aquinea, a very small business at the origin of the project based in Pompertuzat (Haute-Garonne) - is a so-called "conventional" helicopter, equipped with 'a single variable-pitch rotor and an auxiliary rotor located at the rear of the device.

According to its designers, "the German and Chinese competition offers variable speed multi-rotor helicopters similar to drones." Their goal is to develop a two-seater aircraft dedicated to pilot training and recreational flying, and ultimately to integrate it into air traffic under conditions of commercial use.

The device, presented by the ministry as a "European first", was designed from an old prototype recreational helicopter that never worked. Its electric battery system, developed exclusively for the project, provides it with energy autonomy of the order of 14 minutes. Each flight makes it possible, on average, to avoid the emission of 13 kg of CO2 and 24 g of nitrogen oxide (thanks to decarbonized electric production as in France) compared to a helicopter with “classic” motorization.

With a lifespan of 350 hours, the Volta battery, of a weight of 150 kg, allows “to save” up to 17 liters of fuel according to its designers. Its autonomy "record, beyond the three minutes reached by the current prototypes" differentiates it from other experimental devices, they specify.

The director of the General Directorate of Civil Aviation (DGAC) Patrick Gandil for his part announced the decision to create at ENAC "a new training course focused on new modes of motorization and new energies for aviation ". With Volta, "we have taken a further step, because there is no technology more demanding in terms of on-board energy" than the helicopter, he added.

http://www.connaissancedesenergies.org/ ... ion-161019

[moinsdewatt]

SolarStratos, the solar plane that must fly for the stratosphere

Usine Nouvelle the 09 / 12 / 2016

Flying 24 kilometers above sea level to admire the stars and the curvature of the Earth without using fossil fuels, this is the goal of Raphaël Domjan, the initiator of SolarStratos. His two-seater commercial plane, which he presented on Wednesday December 7, will fly to the stratosphere using solar energy in 2018.

SolarStratos aims to become the first two-seater commercial aircraft powered only by solar energy to go into the stratosphere. Unveiled on Wednesday December 7, the plane is 8,5 meters long and 24,8 meters wide. These 450 kilograms have 24 hours of autonomy thanks to a lithium-ion battery of 20 kWh and 22m² of solar cells.

The SolarStratos mission should last approximately 5 hours. Two hours of climb are planned to reach approximately 24 km altitude. Raphaël Domjan, the pilot, will be able to stay 15 minutes with his head in the stars to admire the curvature of the Earth in temperatures approaching -70 ° C before starting a three-hour descent to touch the mainland. And it will be impossible for him to use a parachute due to the space suit he will use. Indeed, the device will not be pressurized for weight reasons, so Raphaël Domjan, will wear a suit of pressurized astronaut operating only on solar energy which is also a world first.

http://www.usinenouvelle.com/editorial/ ... re.N474964

[Christophe]

Nice lengthening !! From there, AMHA is no longer an airplane but a motor-glider ...

I am curious to see how the management of low temperatures will be managed.
A battery at -70 ° C must lose a lot of its performance, right?

On the contrary, the engine and the solar panels should work better at these temperatures ...

[ThomasDurand]

The e-fan is an excellent model!

[Christophe]

Hi and welcome here!

Have you had the chance to pilot it or work on it?

[moinsdewatt]

The e-fan is an excellent model!

and yet:

Why Airbus abandons its E-Fan electric plane project

O THE 28/03/2017

The aeronautical group Airbus has ended its participation in the E-Fan. An unexpected decision, against the backdrop of reorganization and new, more promising flying vehicle projects.
...............

read here: http://www.usinenouvelle.com/article/po ... an.N520524

[Christophe]

RIP e-Fan: Transportation-electric / the-top-current-in-plane-matter-of-electric-of-tourism-t9452-130.html # p374341

[Christophe]

Videos of the Solar Stratos:

It is indeed a glider motorcycle (see more better: it has more elongation than most gliders!)

And a 6-seater solar plane ... in synthetic image (phase where it will remain ... ):

[moinsdewatt]

I would not want to make the flap joy, but the first flight of the Solar Stratos was in May 1.

SOLARSTRATORS
Stratospheric plane begins test flights
By Simon Bradley
THIS CONTENT WAS PUBLISHED ON MAY 5, 2017

https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/solarstrat ... s/43030960

And in July 2018:

Friday July 6 2018
SolarStratos victim of a technical failure
Vaud Raphael Domjan's solar plane was damaged this Friday morning at its base in Payerne. The incident occurred during a routine ground stress test.
.......

https://m.24heures.ch/articles/23205138