PHIL BOYER: 40% OF AOPA MEMBERS ARE SIGNIFICANTLY DECREASING THEIR FLYING DUE TO FUEL PRICES

On Mon, 16 Jun 2008 10:06:16 -0700 (PDT), Jon
wrote in
:

Not your grandfather's Harley:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/media/avdb/news/video/77000/nb/77303_16x9_nb.asx
http://news.bbc.co.uk/media/avdb/news/video/77000/nb/77214_16x9_nb.asx


Thanks for the heads-up. Very interesting. It seems that the
manufacturer of this hydrogen-powered motorbike, Intelligent Energy,
is the same company that teamed up with Boeing on the first ever
manned flight of a fuel cell powered light aircraft:
http://www.intelligent-energy.com/in...rtid=400 1%20

Here is Intelligent Energy's blurb on the ENV Motorbike:

http://www.intelligent-energy.com/in...6&artid=394 9
ENV – the world’s first purpose built hydrogen fuel cell powered
motorbike from Intelligent Energy

Powered by a 1kW Intelligent Energy fuel cell, the bike has a top
speed of 50mph and range of 100 miles on a tank of compressed
hydrogen. ...

http://www.intelligent-energy.com/in...5&artid=393 8



http://www.intelligent-energy.com/im...env_monaco.pdf
ENV technical specification and team credits
Key Components of the Bike Power System
Motor 6kW, 48 VDC Brush motor (model LEM-170, supplied by
LMC ltd)
Motor Controller Brusa Direct Current (model MD 206)
Fuel Cell 1kW Intelligent Energy air-cooled (2 x AC32-48)
Hydrogen Storage High pressure carbon composite cylinder (Luxfer
L65)
Hydrogen Energy 2.4kWeh
Storage Battery 4 x 12V Lead Acid (15Ahr) connected in series
Performance Data
Acceleration 0 – 20 mph in 4.3s (32kph)
0 – 30 mph in 7.3s (48 kph)
0 – 50 mph in 12.1s (80kph)
Top speed 50 mph (80kph)
(note: ENV has been tested to 50mph – however, with
further refinements and redevelopments, this top speed is
expected to be exceeded)
Range At least 100 miles (160km)
Physical
Bike mass 80 kg (Total mass including CORE)
Fuel
Hydrogen 99.9% purity
Oxygen Taken from air
Hydrogen refuel time less than 5 minutes
Interface
Electrical connection Multi-core (Intelligent Energy specific)
Design and Supplier Team
Client Intelligent Energy
Bike/Core Design Seymourpowell
Bike/Core Identity Pod Design
Frame & Swingarm Caress Precision Products ltd
Engineering & D.B.C. Tools ltd
Machining
Body Work Ogle Models and Prototypes ltd
Welding GP Motorsports UK ltd
Motor LMC ltd
Lighting Marl International ltd
Machinings JH Mays
Bicycle Parts DMR / Upgrade
Batteries PBQ Batteries


More info:
http://puregreencars.com/Green-Cars-...otorcycle.html
Rather than the usual solid steel frame, the ENV is constructed of
hollow-cast, aircraft-grade aluminum and weighs a mere 176 pounds,
including its fuel cell – about half the heft of a typical. ...


http://www.fuelcellsworks.com/Supppage2251.html
On a full tank, the ENV bike could be used continually for up to
four hours without any need for re-fuelling. The bike can also be
used by riders of any skill level with simple controls, via a
throttle directly linked to the applied power. The bike has no
gears and is strictly defined as a motorbike, although it feels to
riders more like a very quick and responsive mountain bike. ...



There's a nice article on the ENV he
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8228479/
June. 15, 2005

A British company that unveiled a fuel cell motorcycle earlier
this year has announced that it hopes to have the zero-emission
vehicles for sale by 2006 at a price of $6,000. ... The news
Tuesday came with a decision by Intelligent Energy to relocate to
Los Angeles, Calif. The state has become a hub for fuel cell
research, and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger wants to create a
"hydrogen highway" of filling stations for fuel cell vehicles,
whose only emissions are a bit of heat and water vapor....



Comments:
http://thekneeslider.com/archives/20...en-motorcycle/

Jon wrote:

I wonder how much oil is consumed by the world in, say, a 1-hour
period (on average). Or even 1 minute...

Current consumption is something like 86 million barrels per day (86
mbpd). Divide by 24 and you get average hourly consumption of 3.583
mbpd. Divide further by 60 and you get average by-the-minute world
consumption of 59717 kbpd.

The USA alone, with 5% of the world's population, consumes about 25% of
these quantities.

Larry Dighera wrote:


You probably have to drive a considerable distance to work every day.


C,mon, It's a little more complex than the cost of driving to work.

"kontiki" wrote in message
...

Why do you have mixed feelings about it? My feelings about it are not at all
mixed.

Obviously I hate to see good folks get hurt, and these fuel prices hurt our
entire economy.

On the other hand this will finally force us to use energy in a more rational
manner. For example; there is no reason why we should be commuting to work in
gas guzzlers. Have you noticed the difference in the car lots? I am finally
seeing more and more small cars displayed in the front row while the SUVs and
pickups are gradually being relegated to the back rows.

Vaughn

Maybe if George Bush hadn't vetoed drilling in ANWR back in 1995 and
worked so hard to put so many areas off limits to drilling, we would
be swimming in oil now. I sure hope I get my share of the windfall
profit tax on the oil companies so I can spend $30-40,000 to put solar
panels on my house and fly my airplane more often, too.

DF

wrote:

Maybe if George Bush hadn't vetoed drilling in ANWR back in 1995 and
worked so hard to put so many areas off limits to drilling, we would
be swimming in oil now. I sure hope I get my share of the windfall
profit tax on the oil companies so I can spend $30-40,000 to put solar
panels on my house and fly my airplane more often, too.


How does the governor of Texas veto oil drilling in Alaska?

On Jun 16, 10:12�am, "Steven P. McNicoll"
wrote:
wrote:

Maybe if George Bush hadn't vetoed drilling in ANWR back in 1995 and
worked so hard to put so many areas off limits to drilling, we would
be swimming in oil now. �I sure hope I get my share of the windfall
profit tax on the oil companies so I can spend $30-40,000 to put solar
panels on my house and fly my airplane more often, too.

How does the governor of Texas veto oil drilling in Alaska?

I can't believe anybody took my first comments seriously. Of course
it was Bill Clinton who vetoed drilling in ANWAR. I don't have the
roll call on the votes over the years, but you can make your own guess
at which party has voted most often against generating our own
energy. I'm all for conservation, but no matter how much you conserve
anything, you eventually run out if you don't produce more.

DF

On 2008-06-16, wrote:
Maybe if George Bush hadn't vetoed drilling in ANWR back in 1995 and
worked so hard to put so many areas off limits to drilling, we would
be swimming in oil now.

You wouldn't be swimming in oil: that oil would be traded on the global
market for oil along with all the rest of it. The amounts of oil from
that drilling would be minor compared to world demand.

It would require the socialist approach of nationalization for it to
have any particular impact on the US.

Vaughn Simon wrote:
Have you noticed the difference in the car lots? I am finally
seeing more and more small cars displayed in the front row while the SUVs and
pickups are gradually being relegated to the back rows.


Americans are a reactive bunch. If prices were to come back down, those
SUVs would probably start flying out the door again. When prices spiked
back in '03, smaller cars became the top sellers in the U.S., but only for
about 6 months. As soon as prices came back down, the trucks and SUVs went
right back to the top of the shopping list.

John Galban=====N4BQ (PA28-180)

--
Message posted via AviationKB.com
http://www.aviationkb.com/Uwe/Forums...ation/200806/1

Americans are a reactive bunch. If prices were to come back down, those
SUVs would probably start flying out the door again. When prices spiked
back in '03, smaller cars became the top sellers in the U.S., but only for
about 6 months. As soon as prices came back down, the trucks and SUVs
went
right back to the top of the shopping list.

That's because trucks and SUVs are more useful than itty-bitty cars.

Bottom line: SUVs can do all sorts of things that econocars cannot, while
SUVs can do everything that the econocar can do, better. With one
exception: Fuel consumption.

I think we'll see a short-term boom for small-car manufacturers, as
consumers shift to multiple vehicles, and use the ones that make the most
sense for the task at hand.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"