Black Ops 'Dark Deltoid' VTOL Caught Flying In Texas Hangar

 It's hard to believe something so small, light, and inexpensive could look so stinkin' cool in the air, but this little Dark Deltoid RC model is all that and more. I've seen a lot of nifty RC ideas in the last couple years, but nothing makes me wanna get active again more than this little thing. And no, it's not really 'black ops' material, and technically the building isn't really a hangar, except for when a group of electric modelers take over and bring their airplanes inside.

 You might recognize the building from the amazing foamy C-47 video from last summer. I enjoyed communicating with Gary (youtube user sr71afan) last year about his stunning 10' span C-47 that only weighs 5.4 pounds, and I found this Dark Deltoid video today on his page. Gary and friends have been building a wide variety of hyper light foam RC aircraft and flying them inside this football field size building in Texas. The combination of unbelievably low wing loadings and the still air of the building create some of the most fascinating flying I've ever seen. Not only does this little Dark Deltoid fly slowly with tremendous maneuverability, but the vertical takeoffs and landings are spectacular. It's just pure avgeek fun!

 The video below is another similar VTOL worth checking out as well. It's the VFO from Great Planes and it also flies great. These guys definitely know how to have fun : )

Gentlemen...Charge Your Batteries! (EAA $60K Electric Flight Prize)

Click pic to go to the EAA page on the Electric Flight Prize

 And ladies too… the EAA’s 2011 $60,000 Electric Flight Prize is for men and women of course, but it’s not for the internal combustion engine - electric only need apply. And if you’ve got a great flying electric airplane (or one in the works) then you’ll wanna be applying to see if you can snag some of that prize money! It’ll all be here before you know too as the deadline for applications is July 1, 2011 and the actual competition will take place during Oshkosh (July 25-31) from Tuesday July 26th thru Friday July 29th. You can get full details and apply via this EAA page on the Electric Flight Prize.

 Electric propulsion systems are advancing rapidly, and a competition like this is sure to help push that advancement along. Only the 12 most viable entrants will qualify to compete for the Electric Flight Prize… and while there might not even be 12 entrants stepping forward, I’m hoping that there are more projects in the works than we might think. This is such a great opportunity for even the little guy to wow the world with some great and innovative ideas. The competitions are open to anyone with an electric powered aircraft who has flown at least 40 hours and has an airworthiness certificate.

 The competition will include four different categories:

Endurance - A timed event to determine which aircraft can stay aloft for the longest time in standard configuration (i.e., without additional battery packs). The clock will start when the aircraft crosses a defined start line, and will end when the pilot taxies across a finish line (locations of start and finish lines will be confirmed at pilot briefing). Competitors will be expected to land with a 10% battery reserve, and anyone unable to taxi across the finish line will be disqualified. All takeoffs will establish aircraft in a racetrack pattern above Wittman Regional Airport at a constant altitude. (Event to be held Tuesday, July 26)

Possible Electric Flight Prize entry? Electric Cessna 172 project from Bye Energy

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Everybody's Doing The Electric Cricket!

Hugues Duval in a Cri Cri aircraft powered by two 35 hp Electravia electric motors

  Ok, maybe not 'everybody', but first it was Aerospace giant EADS building the little 4-motor electric Cri Cri and then right on their heels was this one pictured here that uses two 35 hp electric motors from Electravia. Both actually had their first flights back in September. Kinda interesting that one of the smallest airplanes in the world has already been so successful at demonstrating the flight potential of electric power systems.

BTW, when the 'Cri Cri' first appeared from French designer Michel Colomban in 1973, the name Cri Cri was also known to be interchangeable with 'Cricket'. I wasn't able to confirm exactly how the two words are connected (I've seen several different stories) but regardless of which name you use, you're talking about one of the most unique aircraft ever designed and built. I can still remember the unbelievable sight of two Crickets doing some pretty hardcore low-level aerobatics at Oshkosh in 1981... still one of the most impressive aerial displays I've even seen!

 The real story here however is the electric propulsion systems. We're seeing several innovative ideas pop up around the world showing the potential of electric power for flight, but there's something extra encouraging to me to see this very familiar airframe so effectively adapted to it. It's almost getting easy to imagine that before long we'll see amazingly affordable and effective 'sport flying' machines readily available. In fact, the 'sport flying' segment is probably the perfect place for this technology to get an initial grip. Battery technology right now is still gonna keep overall run time fairly short, which is very well suited to the guy just looking for 30 minutes to an hour of cheap fun flying. And, with the relatively low power output motors that are currently available, smaller single seat airplanes are the best fit for these quiet powerplants. 

Hugues Duval and the electric motor powered Cri Cri in flight

 The rapid pace that things are changing is certainly making it seem possible that electric propulsion systems large enough for even 4-place aircraft may not be as far away as we thought just a few years back. In fact, the electric powered Cessna 172 concept from Bye Energy is a strong first step in that direction. That project, which includes participation from Cessna, is aimed at eventually getting an STC for the conversion which would make a 2-seat trainer that could fly for 2 hours and use no avgas at all. The concept seems to make sense... and it's unique applications like this that will slowly open the door for electric airplanes (and advancing motor and battery technology) to get a foothold into a market desperately in need of innovation.

 The biggest challenge for electric power for aviation seems to come from dealing with what to do about 'refueling' while on longer flights, or when traveling great distances. The infrastructure needed for replaceable batteries, or the technology advances required for 20 minute re-charging seem to be a really long way off. But overall, the progress already seen is pretty exciting.

 Lastly, it's interesting to note that the Cri Cri pictured here, with the Electravia motors totaling 70 hp, wasn't just barely able to get off the ground, it actually reached 162 mph, essentially the airframe's maximum design speed! They claim that using full power would have propelled it all the way up to 220 mph! When you consider that the Cri Cri is far from a 'motorglider with a massive wing', you can see that realistic applications for normal airframes powered by the electron are definitely on the horizon. I think I'm pretty happy about that... I wouldn't mind doing the little electric Cricket myself : )

Videos: AirPigz Inspired RC YC-14 - What A Great EDF Flyer!

(3 videos)

 I posted a CoolPix of the YC-14 a little while back - mostly cuz I've always thought it was a really awesome airplane. It had a different look, especially with those two big turbofans mounted up high and well forward of the wing... and from everything I can find out about it, it was also a spectacular performer. And then today, I got an email from Will who runs MikeysRC.com saying that he's really been enjoying AirPigz, (pardon me while I give myself a tiny pat on the back) and that he was especially inspired by the YC-14 post. He was so inspired in fact, by the knowledge of this airplane he'd never seen before, that he decided to build an twin EDF (Electric Ducted Fan) RC model of it!

 The video above shows what he came up with. It's a very lightweight foam slab 'quick build', all from scratch, but he's done a great job of capturing the visual essence of the YC-14 while still making it really easy to build. If you're in a hurry, skip ahead to about 1:20 for a good view and then the maiden flight launch. This little thing flies extremely well! I haven't flown any electric ducted fans, but I've heard they often don't really perform very well... for whatever reason, they're working great on this little YC-14. The video after the jump explains the second very cool feature of this YC-14. Will has it set up for FPV, or First Person View flying. Yeah, it's like full UAV with onboard live video streaming back to the pilot! This is all so cool : )

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Video: Fabulous Recap Of The 26-Hour 'Solar Impulse' Flight

 A great video recap of the historic 26-hour flight of the Solar Impulse on July 8, 2010. You can find lots more videos of this fascinating electric aircraft at the Solar impulse youtube channel, and additional info on the project at their official website: solarimpulse.com.

Audio Comparo: Yuneec E430 Takes On The Radial Rocket (HeHe)

 I've been doing a lot of research on electric powered flight these last few days which has left me remarkably encouraged for where the state of the art will soon be. There are a lot of projects in the works and some leaping and bounding going on. I'll be posting more about that before long.

 One of the things that's hit me hard about electric flight tho is the sound of the airplanes... or the relative lack thereof. So, to make me feel a little better, I did a little audio comparo today, pitting the Yuneec E430 all-electric aircraft against the Radial Rocket powered by the 360hp Russian M-14 radial internal combustion engine. Is it a fair comparo? Of course not. That's not the point. But it does kinda point out how much the sound can drive the passion for flight. At least it does for me.

 So, take a listen to the Yuneec in the video above. It's only 23 seconds long, so you'll get the important sound bite quickly. It's actually pretty interesting how much that little electric motor and prop sound like a smooth and powerful turboprop as it flies by. I was somewhat surprised by how much I liked the way it sounded.

 Then, after you listen to the Yuneec, check out the Radial Rocket video below. If you're anything like me, by 30 seconds into it your heart rate will quicken and large amounts of saliva will begin to pool in your mouth. By a minute into the video you might be thinking something like: "If I sold the house and lived in my car, I could have one of those beasts!" Yeah, the sound of a radial engine, with a bazillion moving parts rubbing up against each other with a little oil between them, controlled explosions of hydrocarbon  fuel and air going on at an amazingly high rate, and an exhaust output that would curl ole Al's hair are really a large part of what makes a really great airplane. So, while I'm ok with electric airplanes moving in and changing the game, I just hope will have some gasoline (and the bucks it'll take to buy it) for as long as I live so we can be sure to have airplanes that sound like the Radial Rocket does!

(more details on the Radial Rocket coming soon... this is definitely one to talk about!)

Oshkosh 2010 Pic Stream #3 - Getting Settled In (16 pix)

 Check out that long morning shadow coming off that Luscombe! Tuesday started with loads of sunshine and stayed that way most of the day. Some overcast appeared for a while in the afternoon, but it was a good day for weather.

  Mid morning had lots of activity going on at AeroShell Square. Here, Art Nalls tells a very interested crowd about his Sea Harrier. This is the only privately owned flyable Harrier jump jet in the world. 

The airplane is scheduled to put on some flight demos thru the week, and I'm sure it will attract a lot attention. I also talked with Art and we're working on doing a podcast before too long. I'm sure it will be fascinating to get the story behind the journey of pilot and airplane to reach this point.

  How'd you like to have a grandpa who would make this for you?! As I worked my way around all the goodies on AeroShell Square, I spotted this ultra-cool DC-3 wagon with some pretty happy kids in it. Tho I think they might have been getting tired waving to all the people looking at them... they were very popular!

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Oshkosh 2010 Pic Stream #1 - It's All About To Begin! (17 pix)

 It's not really much of a campsite here in this early Sunday morning picture, but it's Oshkosh(!), so I'm off-the-scale happy. Even with all the mud and challenges that have hit the last stages of getting this event up and running, it feels really good to be back at Wittman Field! I'm thinking that in another day or so it should like a lot more like home.

 You can see from this pic that the heavy rains from a few days ago have really left their mark on the campground. Even tho this is a Sunday morning view, most of the campground is much better than this. However, it is a sloppy mess over a lot of the grounds. They actually starting turning away the large motorhomes because there weren't any solid spots left for them, even thru the day on Sunday. Hopefully tomorrow will be better and the thousands of people staying away from the airport around the city of Oshkosh in their big motorhomes will finally be able to get into Camp Scholler.

 After getting some campground pictures, I made my way over to the other side of the airport where Sonex Aircraft was having an open house/lunch. It was a perfect opportunity for them to show off some of the progress they've made on some new aircraft. The biggest news came from a smaller airplane... the Onex. This single seat VW powered airplane is specifically designed to be inexpensive and very easy to store. The simple folding wing concept allows it to fit in some really small spaces.

 Here John Monnett is showing the wing folding process. They've put a lot of work into making it all very simple to accomplish, and it was obvious that the good sized crowd on hand for the reveal was really impressed.

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Electric Revolution Sparks Internal Combustion Innovation?

Unique rotary piston internal combustion engine from Simplicity Motor Works

 We're seeing some fabulous advances in electric motor/battery technology as has been recently demonstrated by the Solar Impulse, but viable everyday use of this propulsion for aircraft is still a long way off. But, you could still believe that the days of the internal combustion engine (ICE) are numbered by this exciting promise. Yet, the ability to cover long distances simply by refilling a fuel tank with a liquid that is easily transported and stored is actually pretty fantastic. Compare that to having to recharge batteries, or even worse, the infrastructure nightmare of having to trade your batteries at every stop. Sure, the Solar Impulse is about using solar energy, but realistically, an everyday viable solution for that is way, way off in the future.

 It's the simple beauty of using liquid fuel that makes me think that the ICE will be around for a long time yet. But wouldn't it be nice if we could engineer and ICE that would be much lighter, more powerful, and more fuel efficient?  OK, lets add much cheaper too while we're doing a little dreaming. 

 I was recently tipped off about the interesting engine pictured here. It claims to move way down the turnpike toward fuel-burning utopia with some rather interesting design features. You can learn more and see some animation and video at SimplicityMotorWorks.com. I'm guessing that it comes with some measure of snake oil or BD-5 hyperbole mixed in, but it really does look interesting. This is exactly the kind of thinking we need to create some real advances in near-term aircraft propulsion.

 I did a little more research and found some other extremely innovative ideas out there that take the ICE to significantly higher levels than ever before. I'll be back before long with a more in depth look at how the recent progress being made in electric motors just might be the catalyst for taking the internal combustion engine to places we never really dreamed possible.

 Exciting stuff to be sure!

Get more info at SimplicityMotorWorks.com

Solar Impulse Overnight Flight: Electriflying Success!

All photos from the Solar Impulse Facebook page

Perfect older test flight pic of the Solar Impulse and it's power supply: the sun

 A huge congratulations goes out to Solar Impulse pilot André Borscherg and a very tired team of people that made the 26 hour overnight solar powered flight a success! It was a very exciting and impressive accomplishment, and puts this project well on its way to eventually flying around the world on nothing more than sun juice. More flight details will soon be posted at SolarImpulse.com.

 Here's an interesting look at the fuselage and main spar structure during the build process. The massive box spar gives a good view of why that extremely long 208 foot wing is able to resist twist. Of course the structures are built primarily out of carbon fiber for both high strength and light weight. This huge airplane, with a wingspan essentially the same as a 747-400, has a max take off weight of just 4,400 pounds.

This view of the wing spar helps to give an idea of just how big it is. This also looks like my kind of place to work... a design studio, engineering department and testing and manufacturing facility all rolled into one!

 A close up view of one of the four 10hp motor assemblies.  I'm not certain, but it appears that the motor is the ribbed silver component that has the black duct (cooling?) coming out of it. The large black and silver rotating hub assembly at the front has a ring gear inside the aft silver part. That would put the motor shaft in the right place then to drive the hub that rides on a bearing at the end of the smaller silver cylinder mounted on the centerline.

 It's really amazing that just four of these small motors are able to put the Solar Impulse into the sky. This is one of the reasons that when battery technology advances another several generations, I think we'll definitely see some form of practical electric flight for everyday use.

 Congratulations again to the entire team of people that have made the Solar Impulse such a great success thus far!

Check out more interesting photos at the Solar Impulse Facebook page