On Tue, 14 Jul 2015 08:23:23 +1200, george152 wrote:
On 18/06/2015 4:21 p.m., Skywise wrote:
wrote in :
I would take any number of seats, 4 hour endurance, 30 minute
recharge time, a guarantied 6 year battery life, and a battery
replacement cost of less than $10,000.
Battery life is going to be dictated by number of cycles,
not time. And, I would imagine there would be a 'black box'
recording battery use for warranty purposes. At least that's
what I'd do if I were selling them.
Brian
The current toy evidently 'cooked' a number of the onboard batteries
during its 'record breaking' Japan-Hawaii leg
Indeed:
http://www.solarimpulse.com/leg-8-from-Nagoya-to-Hawaii
NO si2 flight BEFORE AUGUST
Following the record-breaking oceanic flight of 5 days and 5 nights (117 hours
and 52 minutes) in a solar-powered airplane, Solar Impulse will undergo
maintenance repairs on the batteries due to damages brought about by
overheating.
Despite having completed the longest and most difficult leg of the Round the
World Solar Flight, #Si2 has suffered battery damages due to overheating.
During the first ascent on day one of the flight from Nagoya to Hawaii, the
battery temperature increased too much due to over insulation. And while the
Mission Team was monitoring this very closely during the mission leg, there was
no way to decrease the temperature for the remaining duration of the flight as
each daily cycle requires an ascend to 28’000 feet and descend for energy
management issues.
The damage to certain parts of the batteries is irreversible and will require
repairs and replacements that will take several weeks to work through. In
parallel, the Solar Impulse engineering team is looking at various options for
better management of the cooling and heating process for very long flights.
Solar Impulse does not see the possibility for any flights before 2-3 weeks at
the earliest.
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However it would seem that at least two additional electrically powered
historic aircraft flights have occurred:
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http://www.avweb.com/avwebflash/news/First-Electric-Powered-Channel-Flight-Was-34-Years-Ago-224415-1.html
First Electric-Powered Channel Flight Was 34 Years Ago
By Russ Niles
As the public relations-spawned dissection of two flights over the English
Channel by electric aircraft late last week got into finer and finer details, a
big-picture perspective surfaced in the AVweb inbox. The first flight of an
electric aircraft over the English Channel happened more than 30 years ago but
it was overshadowed by perhaps an even greater earlier accomplishment by its
creator. Two years after Paul MacCready's Gossamer Albatross crossed the
channel under pedal power delivered by cyclist and pilot Bryan Allen, a
solar-electric version of the aircraft made the crossing and then some. In
fact, the Solar Challenger stayed in the air for five hours and 23 minutes and
covered 163 miles on a flight from Pontois-Cormeilles Aerodrome, north of
Paris, to RAF Manston in the U.K. That flight happened almost 34 years to the
day (July 7, 1981) before the dust-up over bragging rights for the conquering
of the Channel erupted between Airbus and two other cross-channel efforts.
As we reported last week, Slovenia-based Pipistrel intended to fly the Channel
from France to England and back nonstop in its Alpha Electro on July 7, three
days before Airbus was planning a carefully orchestrated public relations
effort to fly its e-Fan across the 22-mile strip of ocean. The Pipistrel flight
was cancelled when motor supplier Siemens told Pipistrel it didn't want is
motor used for the flight. Pipistrel made some PR hay of its own out of the
Siemens decision but decided to stay on the ground. Then, on the night before
Airbus's well-publicized and thoroughly organized effort, French pilot Hugues
Duval did the flight in an electric-powered Cri-Cri. Airbus officials later
said they didn't consider it on the same level of achievement because the
Cri-Cri was air launched. And if we're nitpicking, the MacCready flight from
1981 wasn't the same, either. Airbus, the Cri-Cri and the Alpha Electro all use
batteries to power the electric motors. The Solar Challenger didn't have any
batteries at all. More than 16,000 solar cells provided the power. History will
judge who "won" this competition.
Did Duval Beat Airbus Across the Channel?
By AVweb Staff
http://www.avweb.com/avwebflash/news/Did-Duwal-Beat-Airbus-Across-the-Channel-224410-1.html
Just as Airbus was completing plans for its successful crossing of the English
Channel in an electric airplane Thursday, it appears as though it got beat to
the punch by French pilot Hugues Duval flying an electric powered CRI-CRI
Cristaline twin. Duval completed the flight Thursday evening, even though
authorities attempted to block it, according to Pipistrel's Ivo Bocarol. Airbus
completed the Channel crossing in its two-motor E-Fan early Friday morning,
flying eastbound from the U.K. to France. Airbus was nearly trumped by
Pipistrel's Alpha Electro, a single-engine airplane, but Siemens, which
provides the Electro's engine, intervened and yanked support for the project.
Duval's plans were evidently carried out in secret and he launched late
Thursday evening. Bocarol said Duval had all the proper permits, but
authorities tried to block his flight at the last minute for reasons that
aren't clear. Duval went ahead with the crossing anyway.
Airbus seemed to acknowledge the flight in its press release on the e-Fan's
crossing, noting it was the "first all-electric two-engine aircraft" to make
the hop. In a Telegraph report on Duval’s first, an Airbus spokeswoman said,
"We applaud the intrepid aviator Hugues Duval for his flight in his Cri Cri. He
plays in his own category. All efforts in electric flying support our goal to
advance electric and hybrid flight. But, of course, in the first place we are
extremely proud of our test pilot Didier Esteyne who just successfully crossed
the Channel in our E-Fan." Duval is an aerobatic pilot who set an electric
aircraft speed record with the Cri Cri, exceeding 175 mph and breaking his own
previous record of 162 mph.
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http://www.airbusgroup.com/int/en/innovation-environment/airbus-e-fan-the-future-of-electric-aircraft.html
Airbus Group all-electric E-Fan made the 74km crossing from Lydd, England to
Calais, France in about 37 minutes.
E-Fan's first flight above the sea
Travelling in the opposite direction to the pioneering Frenchman and powered by
lithium-ion batteries, the E-Fan took off from Lydd on the English south coast,
completing the 74 kilometre flight east to Calais, France, in around 37
minutes. Flown by test pilot Didier Esteyne, the all-electric plane weighs
around 600 kilogrammes and travelled at an altitude of about 1,000 metres
[3,500 feet].
[Photo]
E-Fan’s test pilot and designer Didier Esteyne (left) and Airbus Group Chief
Technical Officer Jean Botti celebrate the successful crossing of the English
Channel
E-Fan's 'picture perfect' crossing: read all the details of the flight!
While the E-Fan has already made more than 100 flights, preparations for this
very special trip were extensive and included a dedicated test and verification
programme put together by French flight authorities, Airbus Group and its
partners.
“That is something which may not have been necessary 100 years ago, when
Blériot’s flight was just a race to be first. But today, following rules and
obtaining certifications is of crucial importance for the future of safe,
reliable and certifiable electric flight,” explains Jean Botti, Airbus Group
Chief Technical Officer.
The 10th of July 2015 will now join the list of famous days in aviation
history, and I’m sure Blériot would be proud of this achievement
Jean Botti
Airbus Group Chief Technical Officer
Airbus Group E-Fan at Calais-Dunkerque Airport after completing historic
Channel crossing
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http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/industry/engineering/11729838/Airbus-E-Fan-2.0-set-to-recreate-aviation-history-with-cross-Channel-flight-only-this-time-its-electric.html
French pilot in tiny one-seater beats Airbus to first electric cross-Channel
flight
BATTLE OF THE SKIES: Noted stunt pilot Hugues Duval made history after crossing
the English Channel in an electric aircraft - hours ahead of an attempt by
aviation giant Airbus
By Alan Tovey, and Jon Yeomans
10:05AM BST 10 Jul 2015
A French pilot in a tiny one-seater plane has beaten aviation giant Airbus in
the race to fly an electric-powered plane across the English Channel, pipping
them to the post by a matter of hours.
In a contest calling to mind the early days of aviation, Hugues Duval flew from
Calais, France to England and back in a Cri Cri plane on Thursday night, hours
before Airbus' planned flight of the E-Fan 2.0 prototype in the opposite
direction.
Duval told The Associated Press that his successful flight was a "relief" and
an "important moment" after years of developing the plane and flying it over
land. It subsequently emerged that Duval's Cri Cri had had a little help
getting airborne, taking off attached to another plane before then detaching.
Video: https://youtu.be/rkEHIv1o7u8.
Duval is a noted stunt pilot in an aerobatic flight group called Tranchant,
based at Rennes St Jacques Airport in France. He set a new speed record for an
electric-powered plane in 2011, also in a Cri Cri plane. Designed in the 1970s,
the Cri Cri is the smallest twin-engine plane in the world.
Airbus' plane, meanwhile, took off from Lydd airport in Kent on Friday morning
before successfully landing in Calais 45 minutes later. It used batteries
instead of conventional fuel to power its twin motors on the 42-mile flight.
"We applaud the intrepid aviator Hugues Duval for his flight in his Cri Cri,"
said an Airbus spokeswoman. "He plays in his own category. All efforts in
electric flying support our goal to advance electric and hybrid flight. But, of
course, in the first place we are extremely proud of our test pilot Didier
Esteyne who just successfully crossed the Channel in our E-Fan."
The rival teams were seeking to recreate Louis Bleriot’s pioneering flight in
1909, when the French aviator became the first person to cross the Channel in a
heavier-than-air machine.
Airbus developed its aeroplane to investigate the feasibility of using
electricity to power aircraft. Electricity produces no polluting exhaust and is
far quieter than traditional forms of propulsion.
The E-Fan has already wowed crowds at the Farnborough and Paris airshows with
its near-silent air displays.
Another attempt to cross the Channel in an electric plane by Slovenian company
Pipistrel in its Alpha Electro propeller plane was called off earlier this week
after motor engine supplier Siemens prohibited the use of its technology in a
flight above water.
"We deeply regret the action of Siemens which prevented the flight - especially
because it would be Siemens that would have enabled the flight, being that our
aircraft used a Siemens electric motor. This is why we find this decision even
more bizarre and incomprehensible," said Ivo Boscarol, Pipistrel general
manager.
However Siemens denied it had pulled the plug on Pipistrel’s cross-Channel
attempt at the behest of Airbus. Although Siemens does not supply the engine
for the E-Fan, it has stickers on the plane.
Zero emissions
Jean Botti, Airbus’s chief technical officer, said the aircraft flew like a
"conventional aircraft of its size". "It is very reliable and some of the big
advantages are its zero emissions, almost noiseless flight and cost
effectiveness," said Mr Botti. The E-Fan has so far completed more than 100
flights.
The two-seat E-Fan weighs just 550kg when empty and has a maximum speed of
almost 120 knots – about 138mph – though it cruises at about 100mph. It has a
wingspan of 31ft, is almost 22ft long, and stands more than 6ft high.
Its 120-cell lithium-polymer battery system – which shares the same
high-capacity, low-weight characteristics as those used in mobile phones – can
power the aircraft’s twin-ducted fans for between 45 minutes and an hour,
depending on the amount of power the pilot uses.
The twin electric motors that power the over-wing mounted fans have a maximum
power output of 60 kilowatts.
Airbus has so far invested €20m in developing the technology and hopes to
introduce a production model of the E-Fan in 2017 or 2018. It has plans for a
four-seat version.
Early customers for the aircraft are expected to be flight schools, as the
aeroplane’s limited endurance is unlikely to be tested by student pilots
venturing far from their home airfield, and its near-silent noise will not
affect nearby residents.
However as the technology progresses the E-Fan could attract a wider customer
base. Airbus hopes it will eventually make it into small airliners and
helicopters, though it could be decades before this becomes a reality.
It is thought the military could also find uses for electric aircraft, as their
quiet motors would be unlikely to alert the enemy.
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http://www.wired.com/2011/07/electric-airplane-pilot-breaks-own-speed-record/
Jason Paur Gear Date of Publication: 07.01.11.
07.01.11
Time of Publication: 8:00 am.
8:00 am
Electric Airplane Pilot Breaks Own Speed Record
French pilot Hugues Duval broke his own speed record for electric aircraft
after topping 175 mph.
He made the record-setting flight in the same twin-engine Cri Cri airplane he
flew to achieve his previous record of 162 mph in December. He completed the
flight during the Paris Air Show after a full week of demonstration flights.
The tiny Cri Cri has a wingspan of a bit more than 16 feet. Powered by a pair
of 35-horsepower electric motors and a pair of batteries totaling 3
kilowatt-hours (and 24 kilograms), the electric Cri Cri can fly for about 25
minutes at 65 mph.
With much of the attention in the electric airplane community focused on range
rather than speed, speed records are few and far between. But with four
successful electric-airplane designs flying in four different countries, the
fledgling industry hints back to the early days of aviation when competition
drove improvements in all aspects of performance.
The CAFE Green Flight Challenge originally scheduled for later this month has
been postponed for later in the summer. The competition is open to both
electric and internal-combustion-powered aircraft, though this year everyone
expects a strong contingent of electric aircraft. The challenge includes speed
and range, with the task to fly a 200-mile course in less than two hours using
the energy equivalent of one gallon of gasoline per occupant.
These aren’t quite the same speeds of the Schneider Trophy, but sure to spur
innovation in a similar way. Watch video from French TV of the record-setting
flight.
Photo: Electravia
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