Electric flight over France

As we know, the French did more than any other nation to pioneer aviation a century ago. Now they have scored another flying first. Little noticed by the outside world, on December 23, a pilot took off from an Alpine airfield and flew for 48 minutes in the first light aircraft to be powered by electricity.   

With electric cars and boats finally in action, that might sound like no big deal. But electric power has long been the impossible dream of aviation because the energy is so puny compared with the dead weight of the batteries. Sitting behind the noisy, gas-gulping beast that pulls my little plane through the sky, I often muse on what it would be like to have a smooth quiet motor turning the blades and belching no carbon into the air. That, in modest form, is exactly what the APAME, a team of French engineers at the village of Saint Pierre d'Argencon, have just achieved.

Their "Electra", a kit-built single-seater, flew around the high Alps with a 25 horse-power electric motor and 47 kilogrammes of lithium-polymer batteries. The flight shows that non-polluting, quiet and inexpensive flying is withing reach, Anne Lavrand, the president of the APAME group, said. "This will be a real aeroplane that will have an airworthiness certificate. It's a machine built for anyone with a pilot's license."

Several far richer outfits, mainly in the USA, are working on similar power packs but so far none have got off the ground. Lavrand told me that they started the project quietly 18 months ago, partly financed by donations from aerospace groups. "It's not always a question of money. When we began,  no-one believed we could do it." Having proved that "ecological aviation" is viable, her group aims to extend the range and power of their technology, which for the moment uses a modified golf cart motor made by LCM, a British firm.

Like most aviation advances, the Electra project is not a leap but an evolutionary step. Batteries now power most radio-controlled model aircraft and some small unmanned observation "drones". Electric motors provide the auxiliary power in some motor-gliders and experimental flying machines with ultra-long solar panel wings have been flown successfully since 1980. NASA and Boeing in the USA are working on future projects that derive electric power from hydrogen fuel cells. The French group also achieved the first electric flight by a delta-wing ultra-light aircraft last summer.

The difference with the Electra project is that electricity has been used for the first time to power an ordinary light plane, albeit a small one. This opens the way to practical, manned electric flight.

As long as batteries are needed, the performance will be low. American firms following the same path are predicting a healthy new market for weekend pilots who are now moving into a new category of Light Sport Aviation. One US firm, Sonex, is about to offer a 50 horse-power electric motors for two-seaters to cruise local skies at about 130 MPH. Unlike APAME's wood and fabric French experiment, these commercial, eco-friendly craft will be sleek, high-tech birds moulded from composite materials. They will have to be plugged in for a recharge after an hour's flight.  Anne Lavrand said that that the fuel cost per hour of the Electra is one euro -- compared with about 60 euros for a petrol-driven machine. The motor and batteries will cost 10-15,000 euros, about the same as existing engines. "You have to think of it like buying the fuel up front," said Lavrand.

Electric planes will still make some noise on take-off and in cruise -- from the propellor blades thrashing the air. But they could be salvation for a sport that in Europe is slowly dying, under pressure from rocketing fuel costs, anti-pollution measures and the ire of residents around airfields.

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A final word to wish everyone -- or at least those who've read down to here --  a Happy New Year.

I'll get back onto the usual territory next time -- after Nicolas Sarkozy, fresh back from Egypt, makes his first New Year's TV address.

[Below: Aerovironment Helios, US experimental high altitude electric plane -- powered by sunlight]

   

Comments

[francbroc]

Ils sont forts ces français!!

[Valentin]

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE !

[Jean Arles]

That's a modern airplane? You wouldn't get me up in a contraption like that, however silent. And if it doesn't make any noise, how would you know if the engine stops? Seems to me like a case of back to the future... Anyway, Bonne Année, to Charles and everyone.

[dot king]

Wow, that is a beautiful, graceful machine. This said, I think I'll keep my feet firmly ground-bound for the time being.
BONNE ANNEE A TOUTES ET A TOUS.

[Dominique]

The Aerovironment Helios is a dream.

We're back to the years 1900 when machines were making humans dreaming of a better world. They became disenchanted since, but the green revolution may bring dreams back!

Thanks Charles for this optimistic new years post!

[Maggie G]

Happy New Year, Mr Bremner!

Sometimes I think you must hate having this blog hanging around your neck like a ball and chain. Every morning when you get up there are new messages waiting, demanding to be dealt with. Even when you're on holiday, you can never escape us.

Thanks for putting up with us.

We're all looking forward to another year of vigorous blogging, thanks to YOU, our leader!

Happy New Year to everyone else too!

[Thank you Maggie, I appreciate it. It's not a burden because I feel lucky that people want to join in. Sometimes I'm a bit slow, like over the past few days when I've been visiting family in England, trying to forward comments from my laptop with a mobile 3G connection that doesn't really work. Happy New Year. CB]

[Russ Kaspar]

Although it is an achievement to fly an aircraft with only electric battery power, check your facts. This was done this summer 2007 at Osh Kosh, Wisconson during Airventure using a trike aircraft. If you want to make a distiction between a weight shift aircraft and fixed wing, I suppose you can, but leaving earth under battery power only has already been done in the good 'ol USA.

Russ Kaspar

[Thanks Russ. I was making the distinction between fixed wing and ultralight weight shift. I wrote this piece after finding it difficult to believe that this had not already been done in the US. A few checks showed that no-one had yet flown a fixed wing very light aircraft like this, although Sonex is about to launch one. CB]

[Otir]

A very happy New Year to you. Thank you for your blog and your very interesting perspective on French politics (and here French accomplishments, the French have always been fascinating engineers, thanks to remind their qualities and know-how).

May 2008 bring all of us some of your gems and wit.

[john o'doe]

Bonne Année/Happy New Year to Charles and everyone on this blog.

[Marguerite.]

Effectivement, ce serait plus ecolo d'avoir des avions qui marchent a l'electricite. (Il y aurait des bornes de rechargement partout, comme pour les voitures?). Mais le bruit du moteur des petits avions 'traditionnels", meme s'il est un peu assourdissant qu'est-ce qu'il est 'jouissif" !

Il est beau, l'avion experimental americain. Et le paysage aussi !

Bonne annee a tous !
Bonne annee Charles Bremner. Merci pour votre blog.

[Donald]

CB: “As we know, the French did more than any other nation to pioneer aviation a century ago.” Oui, les français sont trés drôle. :-) A small correction regarding your referenced « pioneer aviation » blog. You write : « .. the Wrights were staying aloft over North Carolina for half-hour circuits over 24 miles ». Actually, they never went back to North Carolina after their first flight in Dec. 1903. From that point on, they did all their testing on a small farm outside of Dayton, Ohio.

Unlike the French aviation pioneers you mention, Alberto Santos-Dumont and Bleriot, the Wright Brothers were true scientists. For example, they built the world’s first wind tunnel, and used it to design wings with the best lift. They were the first to scientifically design an aircraft propeller. They were the first to be able to control an airplane’s turns in the air (a method called “wing warping” which is accomplished by ailerons today employing the same principle). After the Wright brothers demonstrated their machine in France, Bleriot copied this design to make his cross channel flight. The French aviation pioneers were simply trying anything that seemed it might work, without any real analysis or understanding. The Wright brothers were deliberate in their design.

The French were doubtful and indeed, contemptuous, of the American inventors’ claims that they were able to fly since they did not go out of their way to publicize, at first, the details of their invention. The Wright brothers were somewhat secretive because they were applying for patent protection. However, they were quite prepared to demonstrate their machine’s capabilities (which were years ahead of others) for serious customers. If I may quote a letter of mine which was published in “Scientific American” (April 2004): “The Wrights were trying to secure contracts from good-faith potential customers, not from people more interested in a demonstration to get ideas that they could then ‘borrow’ or modify. The written record of the Wright brothers’ correspondence does not leave the impression that they expected money to change hands without a demonstration of what their airplane could do.”

As regards electric powered flight, the Swiss are also in the running:
(http://www.24heures.ch/pages/home/tribune_de_geneve/english_corner/news/news_detail/(contenu)/172165) in addition to American firms.

Not to take anything away from the APAME group, but I would like to see a flight test done away from such tall mountains in the Alps where updrafts can be a significant factor.

Charles, the best to you in the coming year for providing such an interesting forum concerning all things French. I look forward to many more interesting articles at this site.
Bonne Année, also, to all the commentators.

[Frank Schnittger]

Given the inherent inefficiencies in producing electricity, charging and discharging batteries, and carrying the weight of batteries on a plane, is battery power really such a green idea for airplane design? I can understand why large solar panels covering the entire wingspan and upper fuselage of a plane would make sense to provide a marginal boost to the amount of power required to stay aloft, but heavy batteries and efficient flight don't seem like a natural combination.

[Terry]

Frank said:

"Given the inherent inefficiencies in producing electricity, charging and discharging batteries, and carrying the weight of batteries on a plane, is battery power really such a green idea for airplane design?"

This is funny. An improvement is made to cut some fuel usage and Frank is still not happy. Some greenies will never be satisfied until no one flies and no one drives. We should all go back to the horse and buggy with horse manure piling in the street. We should all heat our home by burning peat. Being green is really about being against progress and freedom of movement. Everyone should only walk or bike. That is democratic.

About the "heavy" batteries. Frank, how much do you think fuel weighs? How much do you think an engine weighs?

[Terry]

As a private pilot, I would certainly welcome an electric powered engine. In the hot humid, New Jersey summers, the noise from my Cherokee (not mine actually, i just rent) trying to chug its way to 3500 feet can be rather unbearable. I was wondering how quiet. As Charles knows, sometimes hearing the engine is a good thing. The owner of the flight school where I trained and now rent out of, insists on NEVER wearing his head gear because he thinks it's crucial to listen to the engine. He is a retired American Airlines pilot. He is also now partially deaf.

Also, the elimination of the fuel tanks would make crashing a "safer" event, if you will. Although, impact trauma, not fire, is usually the cause of death for pilots.

When/if they can improve the performance, this would be rather revolutionary.

[I agree about the importance of hearing the engine, Terry. I use a David Clarke noise-cancelling head-set but keep the electronics switched off until reaching cruise. I like to hear if things aren't right during the take-off. Since I've had my Robin for over eight years, I can tell when the very noisy Lycoming is feeling even a little bit unhappy. With electricity and no noise you'd have to watch the RPM very carefully. CB]

[Daniel Strohl]

Interesting article indeed. Electric flight is a very good idea for private pilots who like Terry (and many others as well) do not like noise.

"When/if they can improve the performance, this would be rather revolutionary" (Terry)

They will most probably be able to improve the performance. Much work has already been done to improve batteries - compared to ancient technologies (lead and cadmium nickel), modern batteries have a much better efficiency.

PS : Terry, I am sorry, but you are no good at ecology - burning peat produces smoke and gas !

[christopher muir]

My thoughts are with the technician who set the Teleprompter at the wrong speed.

[textibule]

Frank said:

"Given the inherent inefficiencies in producing electricity, charging and discharging batteries, and carrying the weight of batteries on a plane, is battery power really such a green idea for airplane design?"

Frank and others,

There is this bogey sneaking up on us all called Peak Oil and it, more than all the other big scary things, will most certainly be the biggest challenge we all face in the next few decennies.

Without getting into the depressing blabla of it all on this the day after 'Happy New Year, everyone!', I want to point out that there are non-oil alternatives to petrol in cars, public transport, space heating which might just see the day if the will is there. Some are greener than others.

But because of the weight/power density ratio of airline fuel, what will be needed to get the big birds off the ground and winging half-way around the world,is difficult to conceive of for non-hydrocarbon airliners. CB's article let's us imagine that on a personal scale, at least, the problem will be cracked.

I still wonder, though, how many kgs of super batteries it will take to get an Airbus 330 up in the air?

[The future, they say, belongs to fuel cells. Running on hydrdogen, these generate electricity, obviating the need for heavy batteries. Their main emission is water, if I've got it right. NASA and Boeing are working on them, though they are far from flyable yet. Filling up on hydrogen is back to the future and the days of burning Zeppelins. CB]

[Frank Schnittger]

I'm glad people are exercising their brain and fuel cells on a new years day at my simple comment pointing out the poor power to weight and energy storage characteristics of battery/electric compared to Jet/fuel.

Of all the possible applications for battery power - and they are manifold - commercial aircraft - has got to be one of the worst. Even hydrogen fuel cells are not yet efficent enough to compete with petrol/diesl cars.

Peak Oil is a reality and there are viable alternatives to oil for electricity production, cars, space heating, and chemical production etc. But the concept of lifting heavy batteries with poor power/energy to weight ratios - thereby requiring greatly increased power to keep the plane aloft - is the least promising application of non oil technology for longer distance and commercial flight.

I suggest we will still be using oil for long distance comercial flight long after peak oil has made it uneconomic for almost everything else. That is not to say that short range light aircraft won't awitch to a combination of battery and solar powered electric engines much sooner. I'm surprised to see Terry being so progressive in his ideas

[Terry]

Daniel said:

"PS : Terry, I am sorry, but you are no good at ecology - burning peat produces smoke and gas!"

You are correct, sir. But almost every form of energy production produces some waste product directly or indirectly. Perhaps, the electric generators at Niagara Falls are the cleanest way to produce effecient energy.

I always choose plastic over paper.

[Terry]

Frank said:

"I'm surprised to see Terry being so progressive in his ideas."

I am not surprised you think that way. That is because many of you on the left have adopted global warming as a religion. And anyone, like me, who does not believe in global warming and espouse to the expensive, draconian and totalitarian measures the greens offer up as a solution is a heretic. No one is for foul air and dirty water. I fly and I boat and swim in a lake. I dont want to see these things (or anything else) polluted. We all want to see more fuel effecient planes. It reduces costs. And, whoever, there are tremendous financial incentives for whoever invents more fuel effecient engines thanks to the free market economy.

BTW: If you were referring to my sarcastic comments that everyone should bike/walk instead of driving etc., that is regressive thinking.

[Daniel Strohl]

Terry,

I wrote : "You are no good at ecology" - of course, I was joking ...

Seriously now : another principle of electricity generation is used in the "usine marée motrice de la Rance" (at the Rance estuary, there are strong tides, which are used to drive alternators - the plant is running since 30 years; you may have a look at it through Google/Google maps).

This principle is probably used also elsewhere.

[Robin]

On Jan. 1st, Donald wrote :
"Not to take anything away from the APAME group, but I would like to see a flight test done away from such tall mountains in the Alps where updrafts can be a significant factor. "

In that area, updrafts are significant factors in summer and when strong winds (especially Mistral, well-known northerly wind) blow. BUT ! Aspres airfield (the one where the flight took place) is unusable when northerly winds exceed 15 knots. On december 23thrd, weather was calm in Aspres area.

Something else must be pointed out : Aspres airfield is threatened by a solar powerplant project. A company, sponsored by local authorities has decided to build there a 12-megawatt experimental solar powerplant using the surface of the airfield whose existence would be therefore written-off

The first flight of the Electra is thus a very symbolical one, since its builders and engineers are part of the users who are fighting to keep their aifield alive ( www.sauvonsaspres.eu ). This is not to say the solar powerplant must not ne built, but there are plenty of other suitable places at almost no-cost in that area.

[Michael Robertson]

As CB says in his article, this advance is all due to the emergence of newer battery technologies. The motors to drive an aircraft such as this have existed for many years ,though they are constantly being improved upon, but the batteries required to provide the power had always been far too bulky and heavy. The lithium polymer batteries that this plane uses are a variation of those now appearing in laptops, Iphones and mp3 players etc, worldwide, their development being driven on a large scale by customer demand. What is really interesting about all this, is that these batteries are just the start. A new type of battery, using nanowires is currently being developed with 10 times the charge capacity of those available today,and will become available in a few years time. (Type "nanowire battery" into google to see many links to this development) Once these batteries become available, then many more electric aircraft will become practical, (and cars as well, of course!) though I doubt that they will ever replace commercial jets in the near future, as the power to weight requirements are just too large. Nevertheless, this plane is an exciting pointer of things to come in the lighter end of aviation, and will represent a big leap in safety as well, since many accidents are due to malfunctions and loss of power from conventional piston engines currently in use! Electric engines are much easier to maintain, and therefore more reliable.

[John Gregory Flinn]

Clearly another laudable pioneering effort for 'La France'.
It had to come - a battery powered plane: there must be other opportunities for such developments in niche markets such as sport and enthusiasts of light planes.

Technology in light but strong materials has been developing since WW-2 Mosquitos were made of balsa wood - and probably before. Carbon fibre was used in Rolls-Royce jet engines some 35 years ago. They were not an immediate success and had to be replaced by titanium. But such advanced materials are opening up many new fields of venture.

Batteries are among such developments, but still have the disadvantage of running out of 'puff' even when charge capacity is increased, and which is probably the most important consideration for an aeroplane!
In-flight recharging may prove to be a little extravagant!

Power cells do indeed promise much, but a pure hydrogen cell would require a heavy pressure vessel to carry the gas as a fuel, (or possibly some precious metal such as palladium mesh to absorb it, which is itself very dense and heavy).
To get round the weight problem comercial power cells use a
petroleum based fuel that can be carried in a regular tank. The hydrogen is chemically released to generate the electric power needed. But carbon dioxide is a by-product.

Thus, success in electric aviation is likely to be a compromise and a hybrid; as much dependent on new materials as other technological advances.

[Daniel Strohl]

Michaël,

Thanks for the info regarding the nano wire batteries. This is quite new for me and possibly for some other bloggers as well.

Robin,

I had a look at your link. I hope strongly that the solar powerplant people will settle for another suitable place in your region.

I know Aspres sur Buëch since we have passed there several times, driving from Alsace through Switzerland and Grenoble towards le parc naturel du Verdon, where we have lived for five years in a small village.

The "vallée du Buëch" is beautiful, but somewhat isolated. When I was still in activity, I used also from time to time the RN75 to drive from Grenoble to Rousset and Villeneuve-Loubet, where we had customers. At that time, I was far to imagine that Aspres sur Buëch would harbour highly modern aviation and power generation technologies.

Regarding battery-driven small planes, I think that this is the future. Go on and good luck !

[SYLVAIN DE WEERDT]

VERY INTRESTING DEVELOPMENT for GENERAL AVIATION & AERIAL WORK for the future.

SYLVAIN DE WEERDT
EU-LOBBYLIST
GENERAL AVIATION & AERIAL WORK
ex IAOPA liaison officer at EU BRUSSELS for IAOPA from 1980-2004 retired........ but stil intrested

HTTP://BLOG.SENIORENNET.BE/SYLVAIN70

[Stuart Ord]

As a PPL holder, as an owner of a home-built "gas guzzler" light aircraft, as a chartered engineer and as a person who has built radio controlled electric powered aircraft for 15 years (and organise a national fly-in for electric powered model aircraft here in Chester), I feel qualified to comment on the above article.

1) I am really tired of people who think that electric power is green. Maybe one day if the NIMBY objectors to wind farms, nuclear power and the like get overpowered by common sense, then and only then will electricity not have the much bigger carbon footprint than fossil fuels that it now has.

2) Lithium polymer batteries are wonderful compared to the old lead-acid, nickel cadmium and similar technologies. I'm sure battery technologists have much more to bring us in future. However at present lithium polymer and most similar batteries have to be used with great care if not to explode into a fire that water will not extinguish. I've had two lithium fires in my workshop, and many models have been destroyed by them - they are not fun. So the safety of these batteries needs great consideration. There are some related ("Saphion") batteries that are inherently less hazardous, but they are not quite up to lithium polymer performance. Lithium polymer batteries also have a relatively short lifetime when used hard, which motive power applications must do, so the price is not only high in terms of initial purchase cost but also in terms of running costs (to replace them when the performance drops, which it does after say 50-100 recharges)

3) Personally I'd love a quiet, cheap aircraft. But this isn't it. Roll on high power fuel cells. (But we'll need to wait a long time for the price to drop)

[mike]

Incredible to see! Great article.

"Aerolink Commercial Pilot Package - Zero to Frozen ATPL with 400 Hours and Instructors Rating"

[hamdey]

Not to take anything away from the APAME group, but I would like to see a flight test done away from such tall mountains in the Alps where updrafts can be a significant factor. "

In that area, updrafts are significant factors in summer and when strong winds (especially Mistral, well-known northerly wind) blow. BUT ! Aspres airfield (the one where the flight took place) is unusable when northerly winds exceed 15 knots. On december 23thrd, weather was calm in Aspres area.

http://www.hamdey.php0h.com/ http://www.hamdey.php0h.com/LuxorHistoricAreas.htm