Electric airplane to debut at Oshkosh [w/VIDEO]
Yuneec E430 electric airplane - Click above for high-res image gallery
It isn't the first electric airplane we've seen, nor is it the fastest. It's not even the first one to be shown at the annual EAA AirVenture Oshkosh. What makes the Yuneec E430 unique is that it may be the first fully-enclosed battery-powered aircraft to actually go into commercial production. That's right, the Chinese model aircraft power-pack supplier is planning on beating Elon Musk to the punch and bringing its purpose-built two-seat light-sport aircraft (LSA) to the market. First though, it will make an appearance at the 2009 EAA AirVenture Oshkosh before traveling to California to for FAA certification testing.
The E430 has a wingspan of 45.2 ft (13.8 m) and uses a 54 hp (40 kw) brushless motor to carry it aloft where it can stay for up to 3 hours, depending on the battery configuration. During its first test flights earlier this month, it reached a top speed of 93 mph (150 km/h). Besides the obvious environmental advantages, the lack of noise and vibration, low fuel and maintenance cost are thought to be key selling points to electric flight. Hit the jump for video of test pilot Sun Xun stretching the wings of the Yuneec E430 for the first time.
Gallery: Yuneec E430
[Source: EAA AirVenture / Yuneec]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Matt Peckham 2:08PM (6/25/2009)
Not to mention, slap some SOLAR CELLS on top of the wings, and you FINALLY have a vehicle that can recharge itself in a decent amount of time. Think of the wingspan (45 feet, multiplied by even 4 feet, and you have 180 feet of solar goodness. Plus, while it is flying, it can recharge! extending the range.
That's a real solution.
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Matt Welke 2:30PM (6/25/2009)
YES! Solar cells on the roof of a car to power AC is ridiculous. THIS however is a perfect example of a vehicle that would benefit from solar cells on the roof. It's actually exposed to the sun for its entire flight (unless of course there is no sun). I wonder if the solar cells would be too heavy... then again there is newer tech out there for lightweight, flexible sheets of solar cells that would probably do the job. If they integrated them with the system in this plane I think it could add a good chunk of flight time to this plane on a sunny day!
mister nomer 3:13PM (6/25/2009)
Well then behold SunSeeker II.
http://solar-flight.com/sunseekerII/index.html
The development team is comprised of 2 alumni from Aerovironment of GM Impact fame (EV-1 predecessor) and none other than Alan Cocconi founder of AC Propulsion.
Enjoy! = )
Chris M 5:57PM (6/25/2009)
The trick would be getting solar cells light enough to avoid excessive weight, yet strong enough and durable enough to withstand aerodynamic forces, and do it all at an affordable price.
Not impossible, just very very challenging.
jjcentral 2:29PM (6/25/2009)
Very Cool, Finally some product that seems to have a future. It would make more sense to make the wings foldaway, so you can drive it as a electric car. Looks like it has 3hr of charge that is approx. 250miles range while flying, so I would assume it will be good for atlest 150miles range on the road. Solar charge and a back up motor incase the main one fails would be nice. So many possibilities.
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Mart 2:37PM (6/25/2009)
The flight endurance record is currently held by a solar powered aircraft, the Zephyr.
http://www.switched.com/2008/08/25/qinetiqs-zephyr-sets-another-unmanned-solar-plane-flight-record/
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contact 5:02PM (6/25/2009)
250 mile range at what price? I can't possibly imagine the fuel savings coming close to paying off the cost of this plane even over a lifetime. This thing is no faster than a car so you're not cutting down your travel time any. It needs more range or faster speed to be effective.
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Monroe 5:26PM (6/25/2009)
These are meant for recreation, not car-replacement.
contact 6:43PM (6/25/2009)
Then I'd need more than 250 mile range to enjoy it for recreational use. It's a leisurely drive under 250miles. I'd like to travel 500+ miles if I were going to take a plan and go through the hassles of getting to and through the airport.
mister nomer 3:22PM (6/25/2009)
When you consider the original J-3 cub had only 40 HP and that later, when upgraded to 65 HP (48 KW), it maxxed out its range and top speed at 220 miles and 87 MPH, respectively, the E430's performance is pretty good.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piper_J-3
Needless to say this airplane has me very hopeful regarding electric airplanes. Sure hope they make it Oshkosh.
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Mike Weston 4:58PM (6/25/2009)
I stopped flying years ago due to decreasing time and money. Later as I got more environmentally aware I figured that even if I did have time and money again, I wouldn't go back to it. So now maybe there's a chance.
As for solar, I doubt very much that it would extend the range enough to matter. But planes are typically parked outside for days and weeks at a time, so with solar and normal recreational use, you might not have to charge from a plug it very often.
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Sticky 5:31PM (6/25/2009)
I fly E-power radio controlled aircraft. They are very cheap to fly, after paying for lipo batteries. As the above aircraft they have brush-less motors. They require NO maintenance and since there is no transmission virtual no parts ever to replace! Compared to the 30 dollars an hour for engine reserve (aircraft engines have mandatory replacement times) and the very expensive av gas it would pay for itself in short time.
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monroe 5:23PM (6/25/2009)
WOW!
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Adam 5:41PM (6/25/2009)
Uhhh yea.. so.. how many traffic jams and accidents do you normally run into while flying? Also, it isn't always about "fuel cost savings".
Also, with high efficiency solar cells, using specs from a Sanyo high efficiency panel that puts out 205 watts using only 12.5sq/ft of space, calculating 40ftx4ft = 160sq/ft divided by 12.5 = 12 (rounded down) 12 * 205 watts = 2.4kW of power collecting ability. While that might not be enough to fly the plane, it sure would extend the range on a nice sunny day. Also, if you were low on juice, you could land on a road somewhere, pull off, recharge for a few hours and then get another 20+ miles down the "road".
With a vehicle like that, you would never be stranded for lack of fuel!
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Chris M 6:05PM (6/25/2009)
90 mph for 3 hours would only be 180 miles or so, but this looks similar to a sailplane, with a relatively slow flight speed and low drag. A skilled pilot could probably cover a much greater distance by taking advantage of thermal updrafts while flying with the motor off. Ultra-reliable starting means the power would still be available for landing and other emergency manuvers.
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Matt Peckham 10:25PM (6/25/2009)
I was thinking the same thing... kind of the pulse and glide system... I would imagine the solar cells would like charging when the motor wasn't working. I didn't know the solar cell math, but that is good info. With a shape like this, it obviously is designed to be glide friendly.
Cool idea. My boss used to travel from Nantucket to NYC in his Mooney every day. He had to be rich. With this, it seems you'd be saving a while lot on maintenance, but you'd still have to pay airport fees for landing and storage. That's still pretty expensive.
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John Rowell 11:39PM (6/25/2009)
Way cool. I'd like to know when it arrives in California so I can go see it!
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Domenick Yoney 5:58AM (6/26/2009)
It should be heading for the Camarillo Airport after AirVenture Oshkosh finishes on August 2nd.
John Rowell 1:54PM (6/26/2009)
Thanks
David Martin 8:57AM (6/26/2009)
They would be unlikely to use silicon PV cells for making this into a solar plane - they are too heavy.
Thin-film technology is the way to go. The problem is that is has been relatively inefficient.
However, NLV working with Koenigsegg claim to have solved this issue using iron-sulphide cells, and claim a huge 38% average efficiency!
http://www.nlv-solar.com/
http://www.nlv-solar.com/fileadmin/autoren/pdfs/090126_nlv_brochure_portfolio.pdf
That would not be enough to power the plane fully during flight, but would certainly extend range and could recharge it during the week for weekend leisure flights.
I am assuming that the objection elsewhere in this thread that recharging could not occur whilst the engine was turned off is false, as you don't have to leave an EV car running to recharge it - that would mean leaving it on all night.
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