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EADS and Siemens hybrid-electric aircraft

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posted on Oct, 18 2013 @ 03:54 PM
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In 2010 EADS and Siemens flew a Cri-Cri (dear god what an ugly, and tiny airplane) that replaced the two 9hp engines with four electric motors. By the end of this year they plan to fly an E-Fan, purpose designed around electric ducted propellers.

Both of those are battery powered. In June of 2011, they flew the E-Star, a hybrid electric HK36 Super Dimona motor glider. A year later, they flew the E-Star 2, with an 80 kw hybrid electric motor, based on a Wankel engine, generator, and batteries.

Also under study is the E-Thrust, with Rolls-Royce. It's a distributed propulsion system using a turbine engine to power 6 electrically driven fans integrated into the wings of a commercial aircraft.

Meanwhile, EADS and Siemens have also partnered with the Technical University of Munich on a four year project to develop light weight, high efficiency motors in the 300-600 kw class, with an eye on the megawatt class.


Manufacturers and researchers appear to be in agreement: The way to develop electric propulsion for aircraft is to start small. But with the pace at which technology is developing, electric-powered aircraft may not stay small very long.

In September 2010, EADS Innovation Works (IW) and Aero Composites Saintonge (ACS) flew a single-seat, 375-lb. Cri-Cri modified with four electric motors in place of its two 9-hp piston engines. By the end of this year, EADS IW and ACS plan to fly the E-Fan, a two-seat training aircraft purpose-designed around electric-powered ducted propellers.

The Cri-Cri and E-Fan are battery-powered, but in June 2011 EADS teamed with Siemens and Diamond Aircraft to fly the DA36 E-Star, an HK36 Super Dimona motor glider modified to test a hybrid-electric drive system. A year later, in June 2012, the team flew the improved E-Star 2 with an 80-kw (107-hp) serial-hybrid drive system based on a small Wankel engine, generator and batteries.

Electric aircraft



posted on Oct, 18 2013 @ 03:59 PM
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reply to post by Zaphod58
 


There ya go again! Educating me, on something I know nothing about!


Grats on your Moderatorship!



posted on Oct, 18 2013 @ 03:59 PM
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reply to post by Zaphod58
 


You could not talk me into climbing into the cockpit of that thing. That'd be like agreeing to let yourself be duct-taped to a predator. I think you would have a better chance with the Predator.

And wouldn't the batteries pretty much weigh the same as that little motor...if not more?

The aircraft in the link looks a lot like a twin engine BeDe-5.
edit on 18-10-2013 by TDawgRex because: Just a ETA



posted on Oct, 18 2013 @ 04:01 PM
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reply to post by TDawgRex
 


I had visions of when I drove my parents Miata when I lived with them. Head against the ceiling, no room to move.... :lol

The motors used in that one were pretty small, so the weight of the batteries wouldn't have to be too bad. The entire aircraft only weighs 375 pounds or so.



posted on Oct, 18 2013 @ 04:02 PM
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reply to post by seeker1963
 


Thanks.


Yeah, I hadn't heard much about this, other than they were talking about developing it. I can see a lot of potential in hybrid aircraft.



posted on Oct, 18 2013 @ 04:05 PM
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reply to post by Zaphod58
 


Looking at images of the Cri-Cri on Google I just had to wince. The first results tell me that whoever flies these aircraft have a death wish.

But the link provides a pic that actually looks kind of cool.



posted on Oct, 18 2013 @ 04:11 PM
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Closely related to this which I was too lazy to create a thread about a few months ago
It's a long way away, but it's interesting.




posted on Oct, 18 2013 @ 04:15 PM
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reply to post by _Del_
 


That's what I find interesting. The idea of a dispersed propulsion system is very interesting.



posted on Oct, 18 2013 @ 04:47 PM
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TDawgRex
But the link provides a pic that actually looks kind of cool.



That's the E-Fan. It's not particularly attractive, imo, but compared to the Cri Cri, most things start to look good


www.lefigaro.fr...



posted on Oct, 18 2013 @ 05:37 PM
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So I take it the big rubber band they wind up for the reserve energy is hidden down the long axis of the frame, right? Must be where it is. I hope they give it a few extra turns... At altitude would be one heck of a bad place to find the batteries didn't charge quite as expected that time.

At least a parachute is still mechanical.



posted on Oct, 18 2013 @ 05:40 PM
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reply to post by Wrabbit2000
 


They have a triple squirrel backup buried in the aft electronics bay.



posted on Oct, 18 2013 @ 05:43 PM
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(VIDEO) 2011 Paris Air Show: First flight of an hybrid airplane with extended range, the DA36 E-Star


I would love to fly this!!



posted on Oct, 18 2013 @ 11:22 PM
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reply to post by Zaphod58
 


It must be secret squirl. This is ATS after all.



posted on Oct, 19 2013 @ 12:22 PM
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_Del_
Closely related to this which I was too lazy to create a thread about a few months ago
It's a long way away, but it's interesting.



Looks very interesting, not to sure about the single power source though, unless there is some kind of method to store residual power.



posted on Oct, 19 2013 @ 04:26 PM
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reply to post by smurfy
 


It runs off a gas-powered turbine. The turbine produces some minimal thrust but primarily powers the fans and/or recharges the batteries. If the turbine fails the batteries have sufficient charge to power the plane. If for some reason all the batteries were to fail the turbine powers the fans directly. It'd have to be some sort of catastrophic failure to lose power to the fans. I've seen a slide somewhere or other from a presentation with solar panels on the dorsal and wing surface, too, but I cannot find it at the moment.

It's all sort of pie in the sky at the moment, but assuming some technologies catch up to the theory, it is a very interesting sort of proposal.



posted on Mar, 19 2014 @ 11:35 AM
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E-Fan had it's first flight last week:









 
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