NASA Awards Historic Green Aviation Prize
MOFFETT FIELD, Calif.
-- NASA has awarded the largest prize in aviation history, created to inspire the development of more fuel-efficient aircraft and spark the start of a new electric airplane industry. The technologies demonstrated by the CAFE Green Flight Challenge, sponsored by Google, competitors may end up in general aviation aircraft, spawning new jobs and new industries for the 21st century.
The first place prize of $1.35 million was awarded to team Pipistrel-USA.com of State College, Pa. The second place prize of $120,000 went to team eGenius, of Ramona, Calif.
Fourteen teams originally registered for the competition. Three teams successfully met all requirements and competed in the skies over the Charles M. Schulz Sonoma County Airport in Santa Rosa, Calif. The competition was managed by the Comparative Aircraft Flight Efficiency (CAFE) Foundation under an agreement with NASA.
"NASA congratulates Pipistrel-USA.com for proving that ultra-efficient aviation is within our grasp," said Joe Parrish, NASA's acting chief technologist at NASA Headquarters in Washington. "Today we've shown that electric aircraft have moved beyond science fiction and are now in the realm of practice."
The winning aircraft had to fly 200 miles in less than two hours and use less than one gallon of fuel per occupant, or the equivalent in electricity. The first and second place teams, which were both electric-powered, achieved twice the fuel efficiency requirement of the competition, meaning they flew 200 miles using just over a half-gallon of fuel equivalent per passenger.
"Two years ago the thought of flying 200 miles at 100 mph in an electric aircraft was pure science fiction," said Jack W. Langelaan, team leader of Team Pipistrel-USA.com. "Now, we are all looking forward to the future of electric aviation."
This week's competition marks the culmination of more than two years of aircraft design, development and testing for the teams. It represents the dawn of a new era in efficient flight and is the first time that full-scale electric aircraft have performed in competition. Collectively, the competing teams invested more than $4 million in pursuit of the challenge prize purse.
"I'm proud that Pipistrel won, they've been a leader in getting these things into production, and the team really deserves it, and worked hard to win this prize," said Eric Raymond, team leader of eGenius.
Some photos available at : http://www.flickr.com/photos/nasahqphoto
Website for the contest is at : http://cafefoundation.org/v2/main_home.php
ADDITIONAL:
LEAP Awards First Lindbergh Prize for Quietest Aircraft to e-Genius
Quietest Aircraft Prize Addresses One Of The Biggest Threats To Aviation
At the NASA Green Flight Challenge, Erik Lindbergh, founder of LEAP, announced the first winner of the Lindbergh Prize for Quietest Aircraft.
The prize was awarded to e-Genius, a two-seat electric airplane designed and built by University of Stuttgart Institute of Aircraft Design under the leadership of Professor Rudolf Voit-Nitschmann and his two assistants Len Schumann and Steffen Geinitz, and piloted by Eric Raymond and Klaus Ohlmann.
Accompanying the prize was a cash award of $10,000, generously donated by Jean Schulz, widow of Charles M. Schulz for whom the airport where the competition took place was named.
The Lindbergh Prize for Quietest Aircraft is a new prize for LEAP, which has awarded seven prior prizes for electric aircraft development at events in Europe and the US.
LEAP’s programs recognize, inspire and incentivize the innovation that drives our culture, economy and future. The LEAP Electric Flight Program is accelerating the development of the electric aircraft industry through a range of activities, from prizes to advocacy.
The guiding principle underlying the design of the Lindbergh Prize for Quietest Aircraft was to quantify the noise impact of aircraft on the surrounding community. The testing was performed by an independent team of aero-acousticians who measured takeoff noise levels of each of the planes in the Green Flight Challenge.
Measurements were taken at several points along each side of the runway to factor out variables such as crosswind noise. Noise levels of the competitors ranged from a minimum of 56dBA to a maximum of 72dBA. e-Genius won with a takeoff range of 56 – 62 dBA. By comparison, the takeoff noise of a turbo-fan aircraft at a similar distance is 110 dBA, OVER 16 TIMES LOUDER!. (Sorry for shouting...)
Home page for LEAP : http://lindberghprize.org/
.
MOFFETT FIELD, Calif.
-- NASA has awarded the largest prize in aviation history, created to inspire the development of more fuel-efficient aircraft and spark the start of a new electric airplane industry. The technologies demonstrated by the CAFE Green Flight Challenge, sponsored by Google, competitors may end up in general aviation aircraft, spawning new jobs and new industries for the 21st century.
The first place prize of $1.35 million was awarded to team Pipistrel-USA.com of State College, Pa. The second place prize of $120,000 went to team eGenius, of Ramona, Calif.
Fourteen teams originally registered for the competition. Three teams successfully met all requirements and competed in the skies over the Charles M. Schulz Sonoma County Airport in Santa Rosa, Calif. The competition was managed by the Comparative Aircraft Flight Efficiency (CAFE) Foundation under an agreement with NASA.
"NASA congratulates Pipistrel-USA.com for proving that ultra-efficient aviation is within our grasp," said Joe Parrish, NASA's acting chief technologist at NASA Headquarters in Washington. "Today we've shown that electric aircraft have moved beyond science fiction and are now in the realm of practice."
The winning aircraft had to fly 200 miles in less than two hours and use less than one gallon of fuel per occupant, or the equivalent in electricity. The first and second place teams, which were both electric-powered, achieved twice the fuel efficiency requirement of the competition, meaning they flew 200 miles using just over a half-gallon of fuel equivalent per passenger.
"Two years ago the thought of flying 200 miles at 100 mph in an electric aircraft was pure science fiction," said Jack W. Langelaan, team leader of Team Pipistrel-USA.com. "Now, we are all looking forward to the future of electric aviation."
This week's competition marks the culmination of more than two years of aircraft design, development and testing for the teams. It represents the dawn of a new era in efficient flight and is the first time that full-scale electric aircraft have performed in competition. Collectively, the competing teams invested more than $4 million in pursuit of the challenge prize purse.
"I'm proud that Pipistrel won, they've been a leader in getting these things into production, and the team really deserves it, and worked hard to win this prize," said Eric Raymond, team leader of eGenius.
Some photos available at : http://www.flickr.com/photos/nasahqphoto
Website for the contest is at : http://cafefoundation.org/v2/main_home.php
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ADDITIONAL:
LEAP Awards First Lindbergh Prize for Quietest Aircraft to e-Genius
Quietest Aircraft Prize Addresses One Of The Biggest Threats To Aviation
At the NASA Green Flight Challenge, Erik Lindbergh, founder of LEAP, announced the first winner of the Lindbergh Prize for Quietest Aircraft.
The prize was awarded to e-Genius, a two-seat electric airplane designed and built by University of Stuttgart Institute of Aircraft Design under the leadership of Professor Rudolf Voit-Nitschmann and his two assistants Len Schumann and Steffen Geinitz, and piloted by Eric Raymond and Klaus Ohlmann.
Accompanying the prize was a cash award of $10,000, generously donated by Jean Schulz, widow of Charles M. Schulz for whom the airport where the competition took place was named.
The Lindbergh Prize for Quietest Aircraft is a new prize for LEAP, which has awarded seven prior prizes for electric aircraft development at events in Europe and the US.
LEAP’s programs recognize, inspire and incentivize the innovation that drives our culture, economy and future. The LEAP Electric Flight Program is accelerating the development of the electric aircraft industry through a range of activities, from prizes to advocacy.
The guiding principle underlying the design of the Lindbergh Prize for Quietest Aircraft was to quantify the noise impact of aircraft on the surrounding community. The testing was performed by an independent team of aero-acousticians who measured takeoff noise levels of each of the planes in the Green Flight Challenge.
Measurements were taken at several points along each side of the runway to factor out variables such as crosswind noise. Noise levels of the competitors ranged from a minimum of 56dBA to a maximum of 72dBA. e-Genius won with a takeoff range of 56 – 62 dBA. By comparison, the takeoff noise of a turbo-fan aircraft at a similar distance is 110 dBA, OVER 16 TIMES LOUDER!. (Sorry for shouting...)
Home page for LEAP : http://lindberghprize.org/
.
Wow, wasn't expecting quite that much.
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