This past weekend , a NASA - sanctioned 400 - mile “ personal breeze fomite ” race was held in Santa Rosa , CA , to see who had create the quiet , most fuel - efficient plane that ’s still reasonably immobile . Those involved hope pushing these idea forward will make personal aeroplane cost efficacious someday . These PAVs run as placid as a pickup hand truck while averaging a fuel efficiency of 25 to 30 miles per gallon . Four planes showed up for the challenge and $ 100,000 in pillage money was awarded , though the most challenging craft of them all , a modded DA-20 that escape partially on biodiesel , was unable to compete because of a faulty sensor . In the end , the bad winner was the Pipistrel Virus , a two - seater with technical school - happy features such as three GPS modules , terrain visualisation screen and a rocket - propelled chute that deploys in the upshot of a mid - air collision . Here ’s a flavour at all four contenders : GSE Katana DA-20 Plane With Omnivore Biodiesel Engine
Awards Won : None This modded Diamond Katana DA-20 woodworking plane was in all probability the most groundbreaking and exciting plane in the challenge with its biodiesel capableness , but due to a defective inlet sensor , it was unable to vie . plan by Greg and Geoff Stevenson and their aircraft engine company , GSE , the Omnivore only relies on biodiesel for auxiliary power during takeoff and landing place . But the plan is to get it FAA certified step - by - step so that it swear more on the eco - friendly fuel . The locomotive engine also has an electric motor and fuel injection to help make the foxiness quieter and more fuel efficient . It was expect to gain the Green Prize hands down , which would have been award to any plane averaging over 30 mpg for the race , but none of the others could suffer that essential .
Pipistrel Virus
Awards Won : Safety Prize , Shortest Takeoff Distance , Quietest Cabin Noise , 400 Mile Race Winner , Best Angle of Climb The Pipistrel Virus use up home more awards than any other craftiness , but the squad was still disappointed with their results , as it had do well in some family last year . The $ 100k trade has a constant propeller amphetamine permutation that help with fuel efficiency ( 28.8 MPG for the competition ) , as well as sound sound dampening where it tie the Lambada motoglider for scummy cabin noise at 91.5 db . The plane vanish 145 miles per time of day , and only required 924 feet for takeoff . Pipistrel even fly out a squad of engineers from Slovenia to install a newfangled engine that was hypothecate to improve force and mileage , but it did n’t quite work out . What did wreak out was the super high - tech splashboard , normally found in much more expensive planes , with the aforementioned three GPS modules and a panel that can take map data and can digitally recreate the circumvent geography when visibility is poor .
UFM-13 Lambada
laurels Won : Lowest Community Noise , Quietest LSA , depressed Cabin Noise die hard as quietly as a pickup arm truck , the sexily describe UFM-13 Lambada motoglider took home prizes for having the depressed community of interests stochasticity , at 62dB. accord to team leader John Dunham , the aeroplane would have also won the Best Glide Ratio honour — this measure the amount a plane can move forward once it cuts power and still back towards the ground , and the UFM-13 is apparently able to glide at a alike rate as a feather — but miscalculations due to human error prevented that from happening . Few mods were made to the carpenter’s plane itself , other than noise dampening measures . For the challenge , it negociate to vaporize 130 mph , averaged 26.5 mpg and demand 1011 feet for takeoff .
Flight Design CT
Awards Won : Best Glide proportion spearhead by freelance aircraft mechanic Bob Bashim , this Flight Design CT did n’t have the imagination of some of the other team , but managed to snag the Best Glide Ratio prize . Bashim had some groovy idea to reduce disturbance and fuel consumption , including the consumption of a motorcycle silencer on his carpenter’s plane . Other measures rent for the challenge include add noise dampening control board around the engine , and removing all unneeded weight around the carpenter’s plane . — — — Though most of the participants initiate working on this only 6 hebdomad ago , they are already looking forward to next year , with more prison term to work on their plane . Pipistrel ’s team in fussy is interested in the idea of inadequate lampoon lengths , where the great unwashed could have their own runways , and would n’t have to use a regional aerodrome to hit the skies . For more info on the challenge , check out the home page of the [ CAFE Foundation ] .
airplanesPlanes
Daily Newsletter
Get the good technical school , science , and culture word in your inbox day by day .
News from the future , present to your present tense .
You May Also Like
