Changing the Economics of Flying?
What does it typically cost you to fly for a ninety minute flight, cruising about 70 mph with the capability of 90 mph when you need it? We never thought about it a few years ago. The cost of a simple flight didn’t register on our person-al radars. Because advent of 100LL Avgas racing past $4 a gallon, fuel cost has become a consideration in the back of our minds. What if there were a prop driven, enclosed cockpit, all medal aircraft that complied with FAA reg-ulations whose fuel cost for a ninety minute flight was less than a buck, one U.S. dollar? Would we fly more often, let’s see; $40 vs $1 to fuel our flight time? Could the idea of “flying for fun” be resurrected?
One dollar. It’s almost impossible to imagine flying in an enclosed cockpit for ninety minutes for less than a cup of coffee but several aircraft manufactures are delivering on the promise. Suddenly you can fly and it’s a lot less expensive than driving including the cost of the aircraft. The ElectraFlyer-C is an electric conversion of an older kit plane called the Moni. The ElectraFlyer-C uses Lithium Ion Polymer batteries to save weight flying at a max speed of 90mph for 90 minutes. Upon landing, you simply plug the aircraft into the nearest 110w outlet to “refuel” or “recharge” for approximately sixty cents. You can recharge the ElectraFlyer’s battery pack in 6 hours from an 110w electric power socket or in 2 hours from a 220 W socket.
The near silent direct drive 5 KWh 18-horsepower electric motor and lightweight carbon fiber 45 inch propeller team up to power the aircraft. It is able to climb at 500-600 feet per minute and cruise at a speed of 70 mph (112 kmph) with a top speed of 144 kmph. The electric engine and low RPM propeller are well balanced providing vibration free quite flying enjoyment similar to the glider roots of the ElectraFlyer. The converted Moni motor glider base was raised for more ground clearance to use with a larger propeller.
Lower maintenance with no engine top overhauls or carburetor adjustments, no need for gasoline and easy starting are exciting considerations for many pilots. However, with a 180 mile range, which is less than the 216 miles from New York City to Boston and less than half the distance from San Francisco to Los Angeles, it’s not the total solution for many flyers. The ElectraFlyer C, is an electric ultralight plane weighing about 250 pounds and is available now as a kit for about $21,000 with most options including a ballistic parachute for coming down safely in an emergency. Its manufacturer is developing several electric-powered aircraft including a two-place aircraft. The company offers powertrain packages that include the motors, three options of battery packs and the controllers needed to convert the powered glider. The propulsion kit for hardy-hearted do-it-yourselfers costs about $4,200.
The ElectraFlyer is a proven aircraft concept. Randall Fishman, its designer won the AirVenture Oshkosh Grand Champion Ultralight and Innovation award for his ElectraFlyer Ultralight in 2007. He surprised the audiences by flying overhead in almost silence. In 2008, Fishman was honored with the Dr. August Raspet Memorial Award for his "outstanding contribution to the advancement of light aircraft design."
With the costs of flying escalating worldwide other manufactures are moving forward with electrically powered aircraft to lure customers. Pipistrel, a company based in Ajdovscina, Slovenia, is taking orders for a two-seater electric glider, Pipistrel CEO Ivo Boscarol said, “The company already has more than a dozen orders for the glider, called the Taurus Electro, and (it) will begin delivering them by the end of the year. The Taurus Electro, launches with a motor and uses air currents to stay aloft, weighs 700 pounds and recharges as fast as a cell phone”, he said. Another example of the fledgling electric aircraft industry, a U.S. based startup Windward Performance, a sailplane builder, is seeking investors so it can build its own battery-powered plane. Their design, which would fly for up to an hour at an energy cost of only $1.50, is awaiting sponsorship. The “electric” movement is expanding beyond ultralights, too. The French took a standard light aircraft up for a 48 minute flight powered only by a 25 hp electric motor and 47 kg (about 103 pounds) of Lithium-Polymer batteries. The plane carried, cruised at 55 mph and the cost of the electricity for the flight was about $1.40 (compared with $82 for conventional aviation fuel in France).
A lot is taking place in the aircraft design world for more fuel efficiency of any type. The CAFE Foundation, a nonprofit, hopes to encourage innovation by adding a Green Prize to the annual small plane competition it co-hosts with NASA. The group said it is seeking a sponsor for the new prize, which would be awarded to a plane that can travel up to 100 miles at 100 miles per gallon. The Experimental Aircraft Association announced at the Electric Aircraft Symposium, a San Francisco gathering of about 70 aviation enthusiasts who hope to make the sky the next frontier for green technology, that it has petitioned the Federal Aviation Administration for permission to market small electric-powered aircrafts to consumers, a move that if successful could invigorate the tiny but spunky electric-plane industry.
“Changing the way we move through the environment is critical to the future of this planet,” EAA representative Craig Willan said when he made the announcement. “With the general public interest in advancing the level of alternative fuels for light aircraft, the FAA has given us good feedback and has pledged to work quickly on our filing.” Until now, the FAA has only permitted electric planes under an experimental category, in which pilots must build their own aircraft. A positive ruling on the EAA’s petition, which could come during the year and, would allow companies to market their planes to the several hundred thousand customers who fly planes in the larger light sport aircraft, or LSA, category.
Airplane designers have been working on delivering electric-propelled crafts for almost 40 years. Technical limitations have proved difficult but overcoming the obstacles seems to within the grasp of modern day pioneers. Randall Fishman and his ElectraFlyer broken the marketable electric barrier and many other manufacturers are helping to bring back the freedom of flight for those pilots who can enjoy a single place short range aircraft. Once the barriers are over-come it’s just a matter of time before the inventors and the administrators deliver larger, more powerful full service electric aircraft.
By John Cilio