TECH TALK
Due to technological limitations of solar power and lithium batteries, this will not work for larger aircraft or those that need to fl y farther and longer. The Sun Flyer is aimed at a market which only needs an hour or two of operational time per power charge. There is hope on the horizon. As noted in an earlier
Figure 1: Energy Density per Liter (courtesy of
Wattsupwiththat.com)
Commonly available batteries simply cannot provide enough power for a large aircraft for takeoff (although many smaller aircraft have been able to, notably some small training aircraft) or operate for more than a few minutes. Smaller, lighter aircraft with limited use cases are a diff erent story. One example of pure electric aircraft is the Aero Electric Aircraft Corporation two-seat Sun Flyer which will be a renewable energy, solar-electric aircraft. This company intends to bring to market the fi rst practical all-electric airplane to serve the training and recreational markets.
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article for regular readers of this column, the automotive industry has begun researching the use of lightweight supercapacitors that can essentially be formed as body panels, thus reducing much weight from a vehicle (or plane). These body panels will have the capability to hold much higher charges that will provide more power, faster charging time, and potentially reduce costs by eliminating the use of expensive rare-earth metals upon which most higher-end batteries depend today. These panels could conceivably make better use of captured energy produced by regenerative braking and extend the range of a vehicle. Early versions of these supercapacitors might need to be combined with lithium batteries to be economically feasible initially, according to recent reports. Early versions of these supercapacitors — a “sandwich” of electrolyte between two all-carbon electrodes — were made into a thin and extremely strong fi lm with a high power density. The fi lm is embedded in a vehicle’s body panels, doors, roof, and fl oor, storing enough energy to turbocharge an electric car’s battery in minutes. More research and refi nement is needed but much progress has already been made. This automotive industry innovation will undoubtedly be applied to aircraft once it matures. This could possibly be the innovation that might end the dependence upon petroleum for aircraft. By incorporating the power source into the aircraft body panels, we can solve the main issue of how enough power can be stored on an aircraft without sacrifi cing passenger or cargo space.
THE INTERIM APPROACH: A FLYING PRIUS Many companies and research institutes have been experimenting with hybrid aircraft, where two power sources are used to drive a propeller. (Jet engines will apparently have to wait a bit longer.) One notable project is one wherein Boeing and the University of Cambridge collaborated to create a single-seat electric-hybrid test aircraft powered by a Honda four-stroke piston engine and a custom-made electric motor/generator. The two power sources are coupled so that either can drive the propeller. At times when a lot of power
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05 2015 30
MANY COMPANIES AND RESEARCH INSTITUTES HAVE BEEN EXPERIMENTING WITH HYBRID AIRCRAFT, WHERE TWO POWER SOURCES ARE USED TO DRIVE A PROPELLER. (JET ENGINES WILL APPARENTLY HAVE TO WAIT A BIT LONGER.)
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