The aircraft maintenance professional's source for technological advancements, maintenance alerts, news, articles, events, and careers
Issue link: http://amt.epubxp.com/i/942786
www.AviationPros.com 19 are taking advantage of start-up companies — some non-aviation. This is leading to a variety of new aircraft fam- ilies. They may be distinguished based on the type of lifting surfaces (fixed and rotary), type of propulsion architecture, and propulsion system. WHY THE RUSH, WHY NOW? The aviation industry has a problem and has become the victim of its own success. Air trans- port is continually growing and adds to environ- mental harm if further fossil fuel resources are used. The industry has recognized that best results could be achieved by improving the sustainability of air transport, especially now when travelers are becoming increasingly aware about the finite resources of the fossil fuels. Engine makers are also actively contributing to reduction of fuel burn in their existing engines and are increasingly working on new concepts of open rotor engines and geared turbo fans. IS ELECTRIC AIRCRAFT A SOLUTION? Electric energy seems to be the only ecological "fuel" alternative especially if used to drive elec- tric motors for propulsion. Combining existing technological resources, achieved knowledge, and thinking out of the box could radically change our way of designing air transport tools. It seems that we are living in one of the best times ever for aircraft designers. They are able to benefit from sources which were not available just a decade ago. Many new tools are now avail- able like computer chips and sensors, batteries, electric motors, and software which have become faster, cheaper, and smaller with some coming from the automotive, smart phone, and consumer drones fields. NEW AIRCRAFT FAMILIES In the last issue of AMT, we provided you an over- view of new electric aircraft. In this part we'll attempt to distinguish between some of these new families of electric aircraft based on the choice of lifting surfaces. FIXED WING AIRCRAFT WITH ELECTRIC PROPULSION This category of aircraft includes both convention- al aircraft that have been electrified, and newly designed electric or hybrid fixed wing aircraft. The classic use of fixed electric motors spin a single (or twin) propeller. They are simple, sturdy, easy to build and don't allow vertical takeoff and land- ing (VTOL). Aero Electric Aircraft Corp. The two-seat Sun Flyer trainer together with the bigger brother called Sun Flyer 4, four-seat, are both designed from scratch for electric propulsion. NASA X-57 Maxwell project: A normal twin engine aircraft like a Tecnam P2006 is being con- verted by replacing the original wing with a long wing fitted with 14 electric motors — 12 on the leading edge for takeoffs and landings, and one larger motor on each wing tip for use during cruise. Alice Commuter from the Israeli company Eviation presented a scale model in Paris last year designed to take 9+2 passengers 600 miles on a speed of 240 knots. The brand new design should get airborne by mid 2018 and is using distributed propulsion with one main pusher propeller in the tailcone and two pusher propellers at the wingtips. Pipistrel's Panthera Hybrid is a good example of a fixed wing general aviation airplane where the original Lycoming engine was exchanged by a combi- nation of Rotax 914 gas engine and a Siemens electric motor — a beautiful example of a hybrid concept. Airbus e-FanX: Airbus, Rolls-Royce, and Siemens have formed a partnership which aims at develop- ing a near-term flight demonstrator which will be according to Airbus a significant step forward in hybrid-electric propulsion for commercial airlin- ers. A 2MW (mega watt) serial hybrid architecture on board consists of 2MW electric turbine motor, 2MW energy storage, and 2MW generator that work together. More on Airbus and this topic in the next edition of AMT magazine. ZUNUM FAMILY over Seattle depiction. ZUNUM EVIATION ALICE EVIATION