Electric plane E-Fan

[moinsdewatt]

Airbus Group launches the E-Fan electric plane and goes even further with the E-Fan 2

April 25, 2014 New Factory

On the occasion of e-Aircraft Day on April 25, Airbus Group officially launched the E-Fan, its all-electric two-seater plane suitable for short-term missions. The Minister of Economy Arnaud Montebourg made the trip to Bordeaux to take note of the central project of one of his plans for New Industrial France ... and discover the E-Fan 2, the second version of the prototype.

On March 11, on the sly, the E-Fan, the small electric propulsion plane of Airbus Group (ex-EADS), made its first flight in the skies of Bordeaux. No announcement from the aeronautical group, no media coverage.

The Airbus Group was waiting for April 25 to officially launch its "aircraft of the future", presented as a preview at the 2013 Paris Air Show. On the occasion of e-Aircraft Day and in the presence of the Minister of 'Economy Arnaud Montebourg, the E-Fan carried out a very followed flight over Mérignac airport (Gironde





At the press conference that accompanied the event, Airbus Group announced the investment of 50 million euros in the electric aircraft for the next three years.

In his speech, Arnaud Montebourg recalled that "the history of the E-Fan is part of (the) great French aeronautical adventure" and hailed "a major technological advance". Support that does not occur by chance: the Airbus Group electric aircraft is a central project in the "Electric aircraft and new generation of aircraft" plan for New Industrial France launched by the Minister in 2013.

Little surprise from Airbus Group at the end of the ceremony: the presentation of the E-Fan 2 prototype, the second version of the electric aircraft currently in development.

http://www.usinenouvelle.com/article/ai ... -2.N258095

[Cuicui]

Airbus Group launches the E-Fan electric plane and goes even further with the E-Fan 2

Long article and little info. Weight of batteries? Autonomy? Payload ? Performances? Interest of 'faired propellers? Comparison with current microlights and electric gliders?

[Janic]

there is also the electric cry!

[moinsdewatt]

Airbus E-Fan: the first electric aircraft to cross the Channel

Will the aircraft of the future be 100% electric? The aviation world took the first step towards this goal on Friday 10 June, with the first crossing of the English Channel by an electric plane, the Airbus Group E-Fan. Nearly 110 years after the feat of Louis Blériot in his Blériot XI, the aircraft, 500kg and 9,6 meters in span, safely connected Lydd (UK) to Calais in about 37 minutes. "This is not only a victory, but also the start of a great innovation," said Jean Botti, technical and innovation director of Airbus Group.
...........................

http://www.challenges.fr/challenges-soi ... anche.html[/ Quote]

[I Citro]

Yes, it is indeed an important event, like the crossing of the English Channel carried out over 100 years ago by Blériot.

Imagine the path that electric aviation will have accomplished in 100 years.

The market is economically viable (school aircraft, glider tractors) before expanding to hybrid or 100% electric passenger transport aircraft.

Bravo to the eminent member of this forum who produced the engine and battery management electronics (2 independent circuits).

[Christophe]

Bravo to the eminent member of this forum who produced the engine and battery management electronics (2 independent circuits)

Well done NLC, too bad it rarely goes here anymore! Inevitably given the exciting job it does we understand it!

The efan should be on the market in 2017!

Small technical question: why do you think Airbus chose the "turbine"? In fact a faired multi-blade propeller ... not to be confused with reactor turbines of course ...

Because if the mass thrust (= thrust / mass of the motor) of the turbine is (generally) better than that of a propeller + electric motor, the energy efficiency (= thrust / power of the motor) is less good than '' a two-bladed propeller and the turbine requires much higher rotational speeds (wear, noise ...) ...

Obviously in aeronautics it is necessary to find the best compromise but, strangely, NASA has made a completely different choice (opposite to that of Airbus precisely) with a multi electric plane (and this is the case to say) engines the Maxwell X57: https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/NASA_X-57_Maxwell

Again we can wonder about the choice of NASA multi-blade propellers whose performance is less good than two blades in a field where each joule counts?

Details on the motors with folding propellers (synthetic image because it has not yet flown)

To try to answer my initial question: Airbus, which intends it for schooling, perhaps chose to favor aeronautical performance over autonomy, quite simply?

Autonomy which will be low in all cases in comparison with thermal aircraft even with the use of propellers see small calculation here: transportation, electric / battery-electric-state-of-the-art end-2016-t14966.html in ... awaiting a technological leap in the field of batteries?

[moinsdewatt]

There is also the Taurus G4 electric plane from the manufacturer Pipistrel:





https://www.technologicvehicles.com/fr/ ... -technique

[moinsdewatt]

PIPISTREL Alpha Electro (prototype name was WATTsUP), the new 2-seat electric trainer: the greenest way of learning to fly!

Performance of the Alpha Electro 2-seat electric trainer is tailored to the needs of flight schools. Short take-off distance, powerful 1000+ fpm climb, and endurance of one hour plus a 30 minute reserve. The Alpha Electro is optimized for traffic-pattern operations, where 13% of energy is recovered on every approach, increasing endurance and at the same time enabling short-field landings.

Ivo Boscarol, CEO of Pipistrel says: "With the ever growing cost of fuel it is time to rethink pilot training. Our solution is the first practical all-electric trainer! Technologies developed specially for this aircraft cut the cost of ab-initio pilot training by as much as 70%, making flying more affordable than ever before. Being able to conduct training on smaller airfields closer to towns with zero C02 emissions and minimum noise is also a game changer! Alpha Electro meets microlight and ASTM LSA criteria, as well as standards for electric propulsion and is already certified in France. More countries will follow soon and we are applying for an exemption with the FAA to allow training operations as an S-LSA. Alpha Electro is our 5th electric aircraft project and the second to result as a commercial product. "





The prototype WATTsUP was developed in partnership with Siemens AG, who provided the electric main propulsion components, and represents the next generation of Pipistrel's electric aircraft. Every single element of aircraft has been refined to be lighter, more efficient and more reliable. The 85 kW electric motor only weighs 14kg and is more powerful than the popular Rotax 912 series, typically used on microlights and LSAs. The 17 kWh battery pack is dual-redundant and designed to be either quickly replaceable within minutes or charged in less than one hour, thanks to the next generation of Pipistrel's Battery Management technology. The airframe uses proven features from hundreds of Pipistrel's aircraft flying worldwide.

http://www.pipistrel.si/plane/alpha-electro/overview

PIPISTREL is in Slovenia

[Christophe]

Interesting the twin glider motorbike ... but who drives? Because flying a glider is much more personal and instinctive than a plane!

The Germans had experienced the double fuselage on the Heinkel 111: https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heinkel_He_111

He 111 Z (Zwilling): this type is particularly remarkable. This aircraft was indeed made up of 2 fuselages linked together by a central wing. At the center of it, a fifth engine was added. From 1942 a small quantity of these devices, intended for towing the giant glider Messerschmitt Me 321, was built, in the absence of other powerful devices. Previously, this type of glider was pulled by 3 separate Messerschmitt Bf 110 ("Troika Schlep" device), which required very dangerous synchronized piloting of the three tugs.

https://www.google.fr/search?q=heinkel+ ... g&tbm=isch

he111z-3.jpg (36.59 KB) Viewed 8943 times

[moinsdewatt]

Airbus lifts the veil on its flying taxi project

October 26 2016

Airbus confirms the first flight of a prototype in 2017 and a placing on the market in 2020.
The electric flying taxi must avoid the traffic jams of big cities.


The marketing of Vahana must take place from 2020./photo Airbus

Airbus is already preparing the mode of transport for tomorrow. Its Californian innovation center, called A3, confirmed that its flying taxi project would see the light of day in 2017 with the flight of the first prototype. This innovation center based in Silicon Valley in the United States is working on the development of an autonomous aircraft called "Vahana" (our August 24 edition). Airbus intends to put into service in the very near future a fleet of these fully autonomous urban helicopters in order to solve traffic problems in major cities. The A3 center has just unveiled the design of "Vahana" and its main technical specifications. The taxi will be powered by eight fully electric propeller motors and will only be able to carry a single passenger or packages. The designers designed it to be as small as possible in order to be able to land and take off (vertically) from almost anywhere in urban centers.

As it currently does for a VTC, the customer will use his smartphone to order his taxi which will get rid of traffic jams by flying over traffic. The taxi will be autonomous, that is to say without a pilot even if at first a pilot will be present on board.

However, overview of densely populated urban areas remains tricky. Airbus says it is working with civil aviation authorities to make it possible to transport passengers by air with an autonomous aircraft. The question of security will be crucial. The aeronautical firm has planned rescue parachutes which will deploy instantly in the event of an incident even at very low altitude. The Toulouse aircraft manufacturer has already reached an agreement to test Vahana above the campus of the University of Singapore to deliver packages first. Marketing is to be launched in 2020.

http://www.ladepeche.fr/article/2016/10 ... olant.html