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e News
Tecnam delivered P2006T Twin NASA X-57
electric powered propulsion program
Tecnam delivered the second P2006T Twin for NASA X-57
electric powered propulsion program in July. X-57 is the first
NASA X-plane to feature a fully distributed electric propulsion
system, which researchers will use to demonstrate an
increase in cruise energy efficiency, as well as reductions in
carbon emission and aircraft noise. The wing will be manufactured
and integrated on the P2006T fuselage by the US
based company Xperimental. Researchers hope to fly an
early version of the modified Tecnam P2006T piloted X-plane
early next year, enabling NASA engineers to easily compare
the performance of the X-57 version with the standard production
Tecnam P2006T Twin.
Man flying an electric multicopter
delivered soccer ball
At the Portuguese Soccer Cup Final game in May, a man
flying an electric multicopter delivered the soccer ball to the
referee. Footage of the amazing futuristic stunt shows a man
riding an obvious electric multicopter at around a 70 m height
in rain before landing by the match official near the halfway
line and handing the ball over and then flying away. The editor’s
warning: do not attempt this at home. The rider’s feet
were only centimeters away from spinning propellers and in
case of a crash landing the flying height was too high without
causing serious injury or worse too low to use a parachute.
For those who are more curious about the game, Benfica
won the game 2-1, beating Vitória de Guimarães and they
completed their 11th league and cup double.
MAKS:
Electric aircraft from Russia
At the Russian MAKS Airshow Sergey Korotkov, chief designer
of the Russian United Aircraft Corporation (UAC),
announced on Thursday, July 20th, 2017 that “UAC is proceeding
with the development of electric aircraft for civil and
military use. Yesterday, for example, a range of agreements
on batteries were signed that will provide planes with new
energy.”
Lilium Jet test flew two-seat
prototype of eVTOL
Lilium Jet successfully test flew its two-seat prototype of the
eVTOL by remote control in April. The novel feature of the
design is the setup of the series of electric fans on the flaps
of the main wing and the canard wing so that it can generate
lift with small wing area to reach high cruising speed while
maintain low speed controllability. The near full wing span
electric fans blowing over the wing surface at cruising stage
also help maintain laminar flow to lower the drag. Lilium Jet
plans to develop up to 5-seater model to be used for ondemand
aerial mobility.
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