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99-460: Kitty Hawk Corporation was an American aircraft manufacturer producing electric ultralight aircraft . The company was founded as Zee.Aero in 2010. It was supported by Google 's co-founder Larry Page . In September 2022, it was announced that the company was winding down, though their joint venture with Boeing, Wisk Aero would continue. The Flyer was an ultralight aircraft which was kept aloft by eight battery-powered propellers. The engineering

198-532: A Diamond HK-36 Super Dimona motor glider as a research test bed for a hydrogen fuel cell powered light airplane. Successful flights took place in February and March 2008. The European Commission has financed many low TRL projects for innovative electric or hybrid propulsion aircraft. The ENFICA-FC is a project of the European Commission , to study and demonstrate an all-electric aircraft with fuel-cells as

297-493: A Guinness World Record for the farthest distance. In June 2017, Airbus presented its CityAirbus , an electrically powered VTOL aircraft demonstrator. The multirotor aircraft is intended to carry four passengers, with a pilot initially and to become self-piloted when regulations allow. Its first unmanned flight was scheduled for the end of 2018 with manned flights planned to follow in 2019. Type certification and commercial introduction are planned for 2023. Ingenuity ,

396-704: A patented wing-integrated battery system, the Lange E1 Antares , completed its maiden flight in 1999; since 2004, more than 100 aircraft of this type have been delivered, totalling more than 165,000 electric flight hours to date (until 2022). Between 2015 and 2016, Solar Impulse 2 completed a circumnavigation of the Earth using solar power. Electric VTOL aircraft or personal air vehicles are being considered for Urban Air Mobility . Electric commercial airliners could lower operating costs. By May 2018 almost 100 electric aircraft were known to be under development. This

495-494: A 10-seater, eventually an at least 120 passengers single aisle, short haul airliner and targets 50% lower noise and 10% lower costs. Jeffrey Engler, CEO of Wright Electric, estimates that commercially viable electric planes will lead to around a 30% reduction in energy costs. On March 19, 2018, Israel Aerospace Industries announced it plans to develop a short-haul electric airliner, building on its small UAS electric power systems experience. It could develop it in-house, or with

594-451: A 12-hour flight from NASA Dryden . After further modifications, the aircraft was moved to the U.S. Navy 's Pacific Missile Range Facility (PMRF) on the Hawaiian island of Kauai . On July 7, 1997, Pathfinder raised the altitude record for solar–powered aircraft to 71,530 feet (21,800 m), which was also the record for propeller–driven aircraft. On August 6, 1998, Pathfinder Plus raised

693-514: A 2 hp (1.5 kW) single cylinder Daimler engine and flew 10 km (6 mi) from Canstatt to Kornwestheim . In 1897, an airship with an aluminum envelope was built by the Hungarian - Croatian engineer David Schwarz . It made its first flight at Tempelhof field in Berlin after Schwarz had died. His widow, Melanie Schwarz, was paid 15,000 marks by Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin to release

792-502: A 5 kW/kg power density, competing with the 260 kW (350 hp), 50 kg (110 lb) Siemens SP260D for the Extra 330LE . By September 2018, a 350 hp (260 kW) electric motor with a propeller had been tested on a Cessna iron bird. The 750 hp (560 kW) Caravan first flew in 2020 and by 2022 MagniX estimates electric aircraft will have ranges of 500 and 1,000 miles (800 and 1,610 km) by 2024. The motor ran on

891-448: A 50 min endurance. Pipistrel plans to deliver over 30 examples in 2020, to be operated as a trainer aircraft . On 12 October 2021, Diamond Aircraft announced the development of the e DA40 , targeting a 2022 first flight and a 2023 EASA/FAA Part 23 certification, tailored to the flight training market. The two-seat aircraft is expected to be able to fly for up to 90 minutes, with 40% lower operating costs than piston power. The eDA40 has

990-640: A boat if the vehicle was forced to land in water. The airship was designed to be driven by three propellers and steered with a sail-like aft rudder. In 1784, Jean-Pierre Blanchard fitted a hand-powered propeller to a balloon, the first recorded means of propulsion carried aloft. In 1785, he crossed the English Channel in a balloon equipped with flapping wings for propulsion and a birdlike tail for steering. The 19th century saw continued attempts to add methods of propulsion to balloons. Rufus Porter built and flew scale models of his "Aerial Locomotive", but never

1089-432: A crucial role in maintaining stability and controlling the airship's attitude. Airships require a source of power to operate their propulsion systems. This includes engines, generators, or batteries, depending on the type of airship and its design. Fuel tanks or batteries are typically located within the envelope or gondola. To navigate safely and communicate with ground control or other aircraft, airships are equipped with

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1188-457: A fashion similar to hot air balloons . The first to do so was flown in 1973 by the British company Cameron Balloons . Small airships carry their engine(s) in their gondola. Where there were multiple engines on larger airships, these were placed in separate nacelles, termed power cars or engine cars . To allow asymmetric thrust to be applied for maneuvering, these power cars were mounted towards

1287-511: A gasoline-powered Cessna and other aircraft in a series of trials verified by the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale . The Long ESA was found to be less expensive, have a higher maximum speed, and higher rate of climb, partly due to the ability of the aircraft to maintain performance at altitude as low air density does not impair engine performance. In 2017, Siemens used a modified Extra EA-300 acrobatic airplane,

1386-548: A higher energy density than lead–acid batteries , needed to power a heavier than air aircraft . Following successful human-powered flight , a relaunched Kremer prize allowed the crew to store energy before takeoff. In the 1980s, several such designs stored electricity generated by pedalling, including the MIT Monarch and the Aerovironment Bionic Bat. The Boeing -led FCD (fuel cell demonstrator) project uses

1485-514: A mixture of solar-powered engines and conventional jet engines, would use only an estimated 8 percent of the fuel required by jet aircraft . Furthermore, utilizing the jet stream could allow for a faster and more energy-efficient cargo transport alternative to maritime shipping . This is one of the reasons why China has embraced their use recently. In 1670, the Jesuit Father Francesco Lana de Terzi , sometimes referred to as

1584-475: A paper entitled " Mémoire sur l'équilibre des machines aérostatiques " (Memorandum on the equilibrium of aerostatic machines) presented to the French Academy on 3 December 1783. The 16 water-color drawings published the following year depict a 260-foot-long (79 m) streamlined envelope with internal ballonets that could be used for regulating lift: this was attached to a long carriage that could be used as

1683-610: A path to a viable business". Since March 2018, Kitty Hawk Corporation had been testing an autonomous, electric air taxi prototype in New Zealand called Cora and code-named Zee.Aero . In 2019, the Kitty Hawk Cora autonomous personal air vehicle prototype was split off into a joint venture between Wisk Aero LLC and Boeing , becoming the Wisk Cora . In December 2019, the Cora team

1782-560: A payload of 1.5 tons. Bland believed that the machine could be driven at 80 km/h (50 mph) and could fly from Sydney to London in less than a week. In 1852, Henri Giffard became the first person to make an engine-powered flight when he flew 27 km (17 mi) in a steam-powered airship . Airships would develop considerably over the next two decades. In 1863, Solomon Andrews flew his aereon design, an unpowered, controllable dirigible in Perth Amboy, New Jersey and offered

1881-506: A peak speed of 80 knots (150 km/h). The Robinson R44 helicopter was modified with two three-phase permanent magnet synchronous YASA Motors , weighing 45 kg (100 lb), plus 11 Lithium polymer batteries from Brammo weighing 500 kg (1,100 lb). It later flew for 20 minutes in 2016. On December 7, 2018, Tier 1 Engineering flew an electric, battery-powered R44 over 30 nmi (56 km) at 80 kn (150 km/h) and an altitude of 800 ft (240 m), setting

1980-480: A pedal-powered airplane to attempt the Channel crossing, the airplane proved too heavy to be successfully powered by human power and was then converted to solar power, using an electric motor driven by batteries that were charged before flight by a solar cell array on the wing. The maiden flight of Solar One took place at Lasham Airfield , Hampshire, on June 13, 1979. The MacCready Gossamer Penguin first flew carrying

2079-536: A pilot in 1980. The MacCready Solar Challenger was first flown in 1980, and in 1981 flew 163 miles from Pontoise Aerodrome , north of Paris, to Manston Royal Air Force Base in Manston , England, staying aloft 5 hours and 23 minutes, with pilot Stephen Ptacek at the controls. The human piloted Solair 1, developed by Günther Rochelt, flew in 1983 with notably improved performance. It employed 2499 wing-mounted solar cells. The German solar-powered aircraft "Icaré II"

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2178-635: A pilot on 30 minute flights with a 30-minute reserve. Magnix is seeking FAA certification for its 640 kW (850shp) Magni650 aircraft engine, while battery provider H55 (a spin-off from Solar Impulse) is pursuing EASA approval. A demonstrator for the German Scylax E10 10-seater should fly in 2022. It should be used by FLN Frisia Luftverkehr to connect East Frisian islands with its 300 km (160 nmi) range and 300 m (980 ft) short takeoff and landing distance. Airship An airship , dirigible balloon or dirigible

2277-620: A planned three-seat variant for future release. The eDA40 had its initial flight on 20 July 2023. On 19 February 2024, Aura Aero rolls-out its first prototype of Integral E. The NASA Electric Aircraft Testbed (NEAT) is a NASA reconfigurable testbed in Plum Brook Station , Ohio, used to design, develop, assemble and test electric aircraft power systems, from a small, one or two person aircraft up to 20 MW (27,000 hp) airliners . NASA research agreements (NRA) are granted to develop electric-propulsion components. That programme

2376-494: A public demonstration flight in 1878 of his hand-powered one-man rigid airship, and went on to build and sell five of his aircraft. In 1874, Micajah Clark Dyer filed U.S. Patent 154,654 "Apparatus for Navigating the Air". It is believed successful trial flights were made between 1872 and 1874, but detailed dates are not available. The apparatus used a combination of wings and paddle wheels for navigation and propulsion. In operating

2475-435: A range of instruments, including GPS systems, radios, radar, and navigation lights. Some airships have landing gear that allows them to land on runways or other surfaces. This landing gear may include wheels, skids, or landing pads. The main advantage of airships with respect to any other vehicle is that they require less energy to remain in flight, compared to other air vehicles. The proposed Varialift airship, powered by

2574-478: A rigid framework covered by an outer skin or envelope. The interior contains one or more gasbags, cells or balloons to provide lift. Rigid airships are typically unpressurised and can be made to virtually any size. Most, but not all, of the German Zeppelin airships have been of this type. A semi-rigid airship has some kind of supporting structure but the main envelope is held in shape by the internal pressure of

2673-472: A sailplane. It is the first two-seat electric aircraft to have achieved series production. As pilot training emphasises short flights, several companies make, or have demonstrated, light aircraft suitable for initial flight training. The Airbus E-Fan was aimed at flight training but the project was cancelled. Pipistrel makes light sport electric aircraft such as the Pipistrel WATTsUP , a prototype of

2772-620: A small battery, which powered the motor. Following a 1.5-hour charge, the battery could power the aircraft for 3 to 5 minutes to reach a gliding altitude. It followed a successful model test in 1974, as solar cells were developed, at the same period than with NiCad batteries. Under the direction of Freddie To, an architect and member of the Kremer prize committee, the Solar One was designed by David Williams and produced by Solar-Powered Aircraft Developments. A motor-glider type aircraft originally built as

2871-412: A startup like Israeli Eviation , U.S. Zunum Aero or Wright Electric. Australia-based MagniX has developed an electric Cessna 208 Caravan with a 540 kW (720 hp) motor for flight durations up to an hour. The company's Magni5 electric motor produces continuously 265 kW (355 hp), 300 kW (400 hp) peak at 2,500 rpm at 95% efficiency with a 53 kg (117 lb) dry mass,

2970-506: A successful full-size implementation. The Australian William Bland sent designs for his " Atmotic airship " to the Great Exhibition held in London in 1851, where a model was displayed. This was an elongated balloon with a steam engine driving twin propellers suspended underneath. The lift of the balloon was estimated as 5 tons and the car with the fuel as weighing 3.5 tons, giving

3069-416: A test dynamometer for 1,000 hours. The iron bird is a Caravan forward fuselage used as a test bed, with the original Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6 turboprop engine replaced by an electric motor, inverter and a liquid-cooling system, including radiators, driving a Cessna 206 propeller. The production motor will produce 280 kW (380 hp) at 1,900 rpm, down from the test motor's 2,500 rpm, allowing

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3168-410: A thin gastight metal envelope, rather than the usual rubber-coated fabric envelope. Only four metal-clad ships are known to have been built, and only two actually flew: Schwarz 's first aluminum rigid airship of 1893 collapsed, while his second flew; the nonrigid ZMC-2 built for the U.S. Navy flew from 1929 to 1941 when it was scrapped as too small for operational use on anti-submarine patrols; while

3267-415: A type of aerostat. The term aerostat has also been used to indicate a tethered or moored balloon as opposed to a free-floating balloon. Aerostats today are capable of lifting a payload of 3,000 pounds (1,400 kg) to an altitude of more than 4.5 kilometres (2.8 mi) above sea level. They can also stay in the air for extended periods of time, particularly when powered by an on-board generator or if

3366-496: A vessel is propelled in water. An instrument answering to a rudder is attached for guiding the machine. A balloon is to be used for elevating the flying ship, after which it is to be guided and controlled at the pleasure of its occupants. More details can be found in the book about his life. In 1883, the first electric-powered flight was made by Gaston Tissandier , who fitted a 1.5 hp (1.1 kW) Siemens electric motor to an airship. The first fully controllable free flight

3465-525: Is a type of aerostat ( lighter-than-air ) aircraft that can navigate through the air flying under its own power . Aerostats use buoyancy from a lifting gas that is less dense than the surrounding air to achieve the lift needed to stay airborne. In early dirigibles, the lifting gas used was hydrogen , due to its high lifting capacity and ready availability, but the inherent flammability led to several fatal accidents that rendered hydrogen airships obsolete. The alternative lifting gas, helium gas

3564-523: Is as a sustaining motor or even a self-launching motor for gliders . The most common system is the front electric sustainer , which is used in over 240 gliders. The short range is not a problem as the motor is used only briefly, either to launch or to avoid an outlanding (an unplanned landing while soaring). The first commercially available, non-certified production electric aircraft, the Alisport Silent Club self-launching glider , flew in 1997. It

3663-435: Is generally hydrogen, helium or hot air. Hydrogen gives the highest lift 1.1 kg/m (0.069 lb/cu ft) and is inexpensive and easily obtained, but is highly flammable and can detonate if mixed with air. Helium is completely non flammable, but gives lower performance-1.02 kg/m (0.064 lb/cu ft) and is a rare element and much more expensive. Thermal airships use a heated lifting gas, usually air, in

3762-591: Is known as a vacuum airship . In 1709, the Brazilian-Portuguese Jesuit priest Bartolomeu de Gusmão made a hot air balloon, the Passarola, ascend to the skies, before an astonished Portuguese court. It would have been on August 8, 1709, when Father Bartolomeu de Gusmão held, in the courtyard of the Casa da Índia , in the city of Lisbon, the first Passarola demonstration. The balloon caught fire without leaving

3861-632: Is not flammable, but is rare and relatively expensive. Significant amounts were first discovered in the United States and for a while helium was only available for airship usage in North America . Most airships built since the 1960s have used helium, though some have used hot air . The envelope of an airship may form the gasbag, or it may contain a number of gas-filled cells. An airship also has engines, crew, and optionally also payload accommodation, typically housed in one or more gondolas suspended below

3960-590: Is optionally driven by a 13 kW (17 hp) DC electric motor running on 40 kg (88 lb) of batteries that store 1.4 kWh (5.0 MJ) of energy. The first certificate of airworthiness for an electric powered aircraft was granted to the Lange Antares 20E in 2003. Also an electric, self-launching 20 m (66 ft) glider/sailplane, with a 42 kW (56 hp) DC/DC brushless motor and lithium-ion batteries , it can climb up to 3,000 m (9,800 ft) with fully charged cells. The first flight

4059-442: Is powered by four electric motors. Energy from solar cells on the wings and horizontal stabilizer is stored in lithium polymer batteries and used to drive propellers. In 2012, the first Solar Impulse made the first intercontinental flight by a solar aircraft, flying from Madrid , Spain to Rabat , Morocco. Completed in 2014, Solar Impulse 2 carried more solar cells and more powerful motors, among other improvements. In March 2015,

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4158-399: Is the more recent, following advances in deformable structures and the exigency of reducing weight and volume of the airships. They have a minimal structure that keeps the shape jointly with overpressure of the gas envelope. An aerostat is an aircraft that remains aloft using buoyancy or static lift, as opposed to the aerodyne , which obtains lift by moving through the air. Airships are

4257-483: The Franco-Prussian war and was intended as an improvement to the balloons used for communications between Paris and the countryside during the siege of Paris , but was completed only after the end of the war. In 1872, Paul Haenlein flew an airship with an internal combustion engine running on the coal gas used to inflate the envelope, the first use of such an engine to power an aircraft. Charles F. Ritchel made

4356-457: The Fraser River near Vancouver . The normally-fitted Pratt & Whitney R-985 Wasp Junior piston engine of the six-passenger Beaver was replaced by a 135 kg (297 lb) magni500 , with swappable batteries, allowing 30 minute flights with a 30-minute reserve. By April 2022, flight testing of a certifiable version through a STC was delayed until late 2023, to carry four passengers and

4455-641: The Parc Saint Cloud to and around the Eiffel Tower and back in under thirty minutes. This feat earned him the Deutsch de la Meurthe prize of 100,000 francs . Many inventors were inspired by Santos-Dumont's small airships. Many airship pioneers, such as the American Thomas Scott Baldwin , financed their activities through passenger flights and public demonstration flights. Stanley Spencer built

4554-516: The Pipistrel Alpha Electro . The advantage of electric aircraft for flight training is the lower cost of electrical energy compared to aviation fuel. Noise and exhaust emissions are also reduced compared with combustion engines. The Bye Aerospace eFlyer 2 (formerly the Sun Flyer 2) is a light electric aircraft designed and under development by Bye Aerospace of Denver, Colorado. The aircraft

4653-443: The "Father of Aeronautics ", published a description of an "Aerial Ship" supported by four copper spheres from which the air was evacuated. Although the basic principle is sound, such a craft was unrealizable then and remains so to the present day, since external air pressure would cause the spheres to collapse unless their thickness was such as to make them too heavy to be buoyant. A hypothetical craft constructed using this principle

4752-417: The 1929 nonrigid Slate Aircraft Corporation City of Glendale collapsed on its first flight attempt. A ballonet is an air bag inside the outer envelope of an airship which, when inflated, reduces the volume available for the lifting gas, making it more dense. Because air is also denser than the lifting gas, inflating the ballonet reduces the overall lift, while deflating it increases lift. In this way,

4851-450: The 1937 burning of the German hydrogen -filled Hindenburg . From the 1960s, helium airships have been used where the ability to hover for a long time outweighs the need for speed and manoeuvrability, such as advertising, tourism, camera platforms, geological surveys and aerial observation . During the pioneer years of aeronautics, terms such as "airship", "air-ship", "air ship" and "ship of

4950-555: The 1940s; their use decreased as their capabilities were surpassed by those of aeroplanes. Their decline was accelerated by a series of high-profile accidents, including the 1930 crash and burning of the British R101 in France, the 1933 and 1935 storm-related crashes of the twin airborne aircraft carrier U.S. Navy helium-filled rigids, the USS ; Akron and USS Macon respectively, and

5049-724: The 2030s. In 1909, an electric free flight model was claimed to have been flown eight minutes, but this claim has been disputed by the builder of the first recorded electric Radio-Controlled model aircraft flight in 1957. Power density for electric flight was problematic even for small models. NASA's Pathfinder, Pathfinder Plus , Centurion , and Helios were a series of solar and fuel cell system–powered unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) developed by AeroVironment , Inc. from 1983 until 2003 under NASA 's Environmental Research Aircraft and Sensor Technology program. On September 11, 1995, Pathfinder set an unofficial altitude record for solar-powered aircraft of 50,000 feet (15,000 m) during

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5148-571: The 330LE, to set two new records: on March 23 at the Dinslaken Schwarze Heide airfield in Germany, the aircraft reached a top speed of around 340 km/h (180 kn) over 3 km (1.6 nmi) and the next day, it became the first glider towing electric aircraft. NASA was developing the X-57 Maxwell to demonstrate technology to reduce fuel use, emissions, and noise, but the program

5247-590: The Helios prototype broke up and fell into the Pacific Ocean off Hawaii after the aircraft encountered turbulence, ending the program. In 2005, AC Propulsion flew an unmanned airplane named "SoLong" for 48 hours non-stop, propelled entirely by solar energy. This was the first such around-the-clock flight, on energy stored in the batteries mounted on the aircraft. The QinetiQ Zephyr is a lightweight solar-powered unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). As of 23 July 2010 it holds

5346-734: The Luftschiff Zeppelin LZ1 made its first flight. This led to the most successful airships of all time: the Zeppelins, named after Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin who began working on rigid airship designs in the 1890s, leading to the flawed LZ1 in 1900 and the more successful LZ2 in 1906. The Zeppelin airships had a framework composed of triangular lattice girders covered with fabric that contained separate gas cells. At first multiplane tail surfaces were used for control and stability: later designs had simpler cruciform tail surfaces. The engines and crew were accommodated in "gondolas" hung beneath

5445-461: The NASA small uncrewed aerial system (sUAS) which flew on Mars in 2021 to become the first extraterrestrial aircraft, has a single pair of coaxial rotors . The Dragonfly rotorcraft lander should be the second aircraft and rotorcraft to operate on another astronomical object than Earth. It should be flying in the atmosphere of Titan starting around 2034. The VTOL capabilities is incorporated in order to move

5544-491: The air" meant any kind of navigable or dirigible flying machine. In 1919 Frederick Handley Page was reported as referring to "ships of the air", with smaller passenger types as "air yachts". In the 1930s, large intercontinental flying boats were also sometimes referred to as "ships of the air" or "flying-ships". Nowadays the term "airship" is used only for powered, dirigible balloons, with sub-types being classified as rigid, semi-rigid or non-rigid. Semi-rigid architecture

5643-408: The aircraft at night. In July 2010 a Zephyr made a world record UAV endurance flight of 336 hours, 22 minutes and 8 seconds (more than two weeks) and also set an altitude record of 70,742 feet (21,562 m) for FAI class U-1.c (remotely controlled UAV with a weight between 50 and 500 kg (110 and 1,100 lb)). For a tethered device such as an air observation platform, it is possible to run

5742-518: The aircraft took off on the first stage of a planned round-the-world trip, flying eastwards from Abu Dhabi , United Arab Emirates. Due to battery damage, the craft halted at Hawaii , where its batteries were replaced. It resumed the circumnavigation in April 2016 and reached Seville , Spain, in June 2016. The following month it returned to Abu Dhabi, completing its circumnavigation of the world. An application

5841-410: The ballonet can be used to adjust the lift as required by controlling the buoyancy. By inflating or deflating ballonets strategically, the pilot can control the airship's altitude and attitude. Ballonets may typically be used in non-rigid or semi-rigid airships, commonly with multiple ballonets located both fore and aft to maintain balance and to control the pitch of the airship. Lifting gas

5940-659: The company gave the official go-ahead. The first free-flying electric helicopter was the Solution F/Chretien Helicopter , developed by Pascal Chretien in Venelles, France. It went from computer-aided design concept on September 10, 2010, to first flight in August 2011, in under a year. In September 2016, Martine Rothblatt and Tier1 Engineering successfully tested an electric-powered helicopter. The five minute flight reached an altitude of 400 feet (120 m) with

6039-498: The company. The term zeppelin originally referred to airships manufactured by the German Zeppelin Company , which built and operated the first rigid airships in the early years of the twentieth century. The initials LZ, for Luftschiff Zeppelin (German for "Zeppelin airship"), usually prefixed their craft's serial identifiers. Streamlined rigid (or semi-rigid) airships are often referred to as "Zeppelins", because of

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6138-583: The design of the Campbell Air Ship, designed by Professor Peter C. Campbell, was built by the Novelty Air Ship Company. It was lost at sea in 1889 while being flown by Professor Hogan during an exhibition flight. From 1888 to 1897, Friedrich Wölfert built three airships powered by Daimler Motoren Gesellschaft -built petrol engines, the last of which, Deutschland , caught fire in flight and killed both occupants in 1897. The 1888 version used

6237-494: The development of the airship in the latter part of the nineteenth century. On 8 October 1883, Gaston Tissandier flew the first electrically powered airship. The following year, Charles Renard and Arthur Krebs flew La France with a more powerful motor. Even with the lifting capacity of an airship, the heavy accumulators needed to store the electricity severely limited the speed and range of such early airships. Fully electric airships are expected to be available again by

6336-509: The device to the U.S. Military during the Civil War. He flew a later design in 1866 around New York City and as far as Oyster Bay, New York. This concept used changes in lift to provide propulsive force, and did not need a powerplant. In 1872, the French naval architect Dupuy de Lome launched a large navigable balloon, which was driven by a large propeller turned by eight men. It was developed during

6435-425: The endurance record for an unmanned aerial vehicle of over 2 weeks (336 hours). It is of carbon fiber-reinforced polymer construction, the 2010 version weighing 50 kg (110 lb) (the 2008 version weighed 30 kg (66 lb)) with a span of 22.5 m (74 ft) (the 2008 version had a 18 m (59 ft) wingspan). During the day it uses sunlight to charge lithium-sulphur batteries , which power

6534-412: The engine controls, throttle etc., mounted directly on the engine. Instructions were relayed to them from the pilot's station by a telegraph system , as on a ship. If fuel is burnt for propulsion, then progressive reduction in the airship's overall weight occurs. In hydrogen airships, this is usually dealt with by simply venting cheap hydrogen lifting gas. In helium airships water is often condensed from

6633-515: The engine exhaust and using auxiliary blowers. The envelope itself is the structure, including textiles that contain the buoyant gas. Internally two ballonets are generally placed in the front part and in the rear part of the hull and contains air. The problem of the exact determination of the pressure on an airship envelope is still problematic and has fascinated major scientists such as Theodor Von Karman . A few airships have been metal-clad , with rigid and nonrigid examples made. Each kind used

6732-416: The envelope. The main types of airship are non-rigid , semi-rigid and rigid airships . Non-rigid airships, often called "blimps", rely solely on internal gas pressure to maintain the envelope shape. Semi-rigid airships maintain their shape by internal pressure, but have some form of supporting structure, such as a fixed keel, attached to it. Rigid airships have an outer structural framework that maintains

6831-455: The exhaust and stored as ballast. To control the airship's direction and stability, it is equipped with fins and rudders. Fins are typically located on the tail section and provide stability and resistance to rolling. Rudders are movable surfaces on the tail that allow the pilot to steer the airship left or right. The empennage refers to the tail section of the airship, which includes the fins, rudders, and other aerodynamic surfaces. It plays

6930-523: The fame that this company acquired due to the number of airships it produced, although its early rival was the Parseval semi-rigid design. Hybrid airships fly with a positive aerostatic contribution, usually equal to the empty weight of the system, and the variable payload is sustained by propulsion or aerodynamic contribution. Airships are classified according to their method of construction into rigid, semi-rigid and non-rigid types. A rigid airship has

7029-436: The ground, but, in a second demonstration, it rose to 95 meters in height. It was a small balloon of thick brown paper, filled with hot air, produced by the "fire of material contained in a clay bowl embedded in the base of a waxed wooden tray". The event was witnessed by King John V of Portugal and the future Pope Innocent XIII . A more practical dirigible airship was described by Lieutenant Jean Baptiste Marie Meusnier in

7128-589: The high aspect ratio wing with 12 smaller props. US/UK startup ZeroAvia develops zero-emissions fuel-cell propulsion systems for small aircraft, and tests its HyFlyer in Orkney supported by £2.7 million from the UK government. On April 29, 1979, the Mauro Solar Riser became the first person-carrying, solar-powered aircraft to fly, with photovoltaic cells delivering 350 W (0.47 hp) at 30 volts and charging

7227-476: The hull driving propellers attached to the sides of the frame by means of long drive shafts. Additionally, there was a passenger compartment (later a bomb bay ) located halfway between the two engine compartments. Alberto Santos-Dumont was a wealthy young Brazilian who lived in France and had a passion for flying. He designed 18 balloons and dirigibles before turning his attention to fixed-winged aircraft. On 19 October 1901 he flew his airship Number 6 , from

7326-518: The industrialist Carl Berg from his exclusive contract to supply Schwartz with aluminium . From 1897 to 1899, Konstantin Danilewsky, medical doctor and inventor from Kharkiv (now Ukraine , then Russian Empire ), built four muscle-powered airships, of gas volume 150–180 m (5,300–6,400 cu ft). About 200 ascents were made within a framework of experimental flight program, at two locations, with no significant incidents. In July 1900,

7425-700: The installation without a reduction gearbox. On 28 May 2020, the MagniX electric-powered nine-passenger Cessna 208B eCaravan flew on electric power, towards commercial operation certification. A 560-kW (750-hp) MagniX electric motor was installed in a de Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver seaplane. Harbour Air , based in British Columbia , was hoping to introduce the aircraft in commercial service in 2021, for trips under 30 minutes initially, until range increases as better batteries are introduced. On December 10, 2019, it made its first flight of four minutes duration from

7524-510: The lander and its sensors at various locations farther from the landing site. On 21 October 1973, the Militky MB-E1, a Brditschka HB-3 motor glider converted by Fred Militky and piloted by Heino Brditschka, flew for 9 minutes from Linz in Austria: the first electric aircraft to fly under its own power with a person on board, powered by Nickel–cadmium batteries (NiCad). NiCad batteries have

7623-538: The lifting gas. Typically the airship has an extended, usually articulated keel running along the bottom of the envelope to stop it kinking in the middle by distributing suspension loads into the envelope, while also allowing lower envelope pressures. Non-rigid airships are often called "blimps". Most, but not all, of the American Goodyear airships have been blimps. A non-rigid airship relies entirely on internal gas pressure to retain its shape during flight. Unlike

7722-474: The lucrative consumer drone market. The Taurus Electro was the first two-seat electric aircraft to have ever flown, while the Taurus Electro G2 is the production version, that was introduced in 2011. Powered by a 40 kW (54 hp) electric motor and lithium batteries for self-launching to an altitude of 2,000 m (6,600 ft), after which the engine is retracted and the aircraft then soars as

7821-413: The machinery the wings receive an upward and downward motion, in the manner of the wings of a bird, the outer ends yielding as they are raised, but opening out and then remaining rigid while being depressed. The wings, if desired, may be set at an angle so as to propel forward as well as to raise the machine in the air. The paddle-wheels are intended to be used for propelling the machine, in the same way that

7920-442: The main or auxiliary power system. During the three-year project, a fuel-cell based power system was designed and first flown in a Rapid 200FC ultralight aircraft on 20 May 2010. The first NASA Green Flight Challenge took place in 2011 and was won by a Pipistrel Taurus G4 on 3 October 2011. In 2013, Chip Yates demonstrated that the world's fastest electric airplane, a Long ESA, a modified Rutan Long-EZ , could outperform

8019-514: The motor burned out after only a few flights. In 1964, William C. Brown at Raytheon flew a model helicopter that received all of the power needed for flight by microwave power transmission . The world's first large-scale all-electric tilt-rotor was the AgustaWestland Project Zero unmanned aerial vehicle technology demonstrator, which performed unmanned tethered fights on ground power in June 2011, less than six months after

8118-453: The national altitude record to 80,201 feet (24,445 m) for solar-powered and propeller-driven aircraft. On August 14, 2001, Helios set an altitude record of 29,524 metres (96,863 ft) – the record for FAI class U (experimental/new technologies), and FAI class U-1.d (remotely controlled UAV with a mass between 500 and 2,500 kg (1,100 and 5,500 lb)) as well as the altitude record for propeller–driven aircraft. On June 26, 2003,

8217-425: The number of known electric aircraft development programmes was closer to 170, with a majority of them aimed at the urban air taxi role. By 2022, about 100 electric aircraft designs were under development worldwide. By 2023, the number of sustainable aircraft concepts under development (not only electric) was estimated at up to 700. The use of electricity for aircraft propulsion was first experimented with during

8316-561: The power up the tether. In an attempt to create a more practical solution than the clumsy balloons then in use, the Austro-Hungarian Petróczy-Kármán-Žurovec PKZ-1 electric-powered helicopter was flown in 1917. It had a specially-designed 190 hp (140 kW) continuous-rated electric motor made by Austro-Daimler that was powered by a cable connected to a DC generator on the ground. However, electric motors were not yet powerful enough for such applications and

8415-401: The rigid design, the non-rigid airship's gas envelope has no compartments. However, it still typically has smaller internal bags containing air ( ballonets ). As altitude is increased, the lifting gas expands and air from the ballonets is expelled through valves to maintain the hull's shape. To return to sea level, the process is reversed: air is forced back into the ballonets by scooping air from

8514-468: The shape and carries all structural loads, while the lifting gas is contained in one or more internal gasbags or cells. Rigid airships were first flown by Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin and the vast majority of rigid airships built were manufactured by the firm he founded, Luftschiffbau Zeppelin . As a result, rigid airships are often called zeppelins . Airships were the first aircraft capable of controlled powered flight, and were most commonly used before

8613-434: The sides of the envelope, away from the centre line gondola. This also raised them above the ground, reducing the risk of a propeller strike when landing. Widely spaced power cars were also termed wing cars , from the use of "wing" to mean being on the side of something, as in a theater, rather than the aerodynamic device . These engine cars carried a crew during flight who maintained the engines as needed, but who also worked

8712-563: The small unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) or drones used today. Small UAS could be used for parcel deliveries, and larger ones for long-endurance applications: aerial imagery, surveillance, telecommunications. The first crewed free flight by an electrically powered aeroplane , the MB-E1 , was made in 1973, and most crewed electric aircraft today are still only experimental prototypes. The world's first serially produced self-launching, manned electric aircraft with EASA type certification since 2006 and

8811-455: The tether contains electrical conductors. Due to this capability, aerostats can be used as platforms for telecommunication services. For instance, Platform Wireless International Corporation announced in 2001 that it would use a tethered 1,250 pounds (570 kg) airborne payload to deliver cellular phone service to a 140 miles (230 km) region in Brazil. The European Union 's ABSOLUTE project

8910-570: Was also reportedly exploring the use of tethered aerostat stations to provide telecommunications during disaster response. A blimp is a non-rigid aerostat. In British usage it refers to any non-rigid aerostat, including barrage balloons and other kite balloons , having a streamlined shape and stabilising tail fins. Some blimps may be powered dirigibles, as in early versions of the Goodyear Blimp . Later Goodyear dirigibles, though technically semi-rigid airships, have still been called "blimps" by

9009-476: Was cancelled due to problems with the propulsion system. Modified from a Tecnam P2006T , the X-57 will have 14 electric motors driving propellers mounted on the wing leading edges. In July 2017, Scaled Composites is modifying a first P2006T by replacing the piston engines with electric motors, to fly early in 2018, then will move the motors to the wingtips to increase propulsive efficiency and finally will install

9108-478: Was cancelled in 2023. In September 2017, UK budget carrier EasyJet announced it was developing an electric 180-seater for 2027 with Wright Electric . Founded in 2016, US Wright Electric built a two-seat proof-of-concept with 272 kg (600 lb) of batteries, and believes they can be scaled up with substantially lighter new battery chemistries . A 291 nmi (540 km) range would suffice for 20% of Easyjet passengers. Wright Electric will then develop

9207-841: Was designed and built by the institute of aircraft design (Institut für Flugzeugbau) of the University of Stuttgart in 1996. The leader of the project and often pilot of the aircraft is Rudolf Voit-Nitschmann, the head of the institute. The design won the Berblinger prize in 1996, the EAA Special Achievement Award in Oshkosh, the Golden Daidalos Medal of the German Aeroclub and the OSTIV-Prize in France in 1997. Solar Impulse 2

9306-512: Was first publicly introduced on 11 May 2016, and first flew on 10 April 2018. On 10 June 2020, the Velis Electro variant of the two-seat Pipistrel Virus was the first electric aircraft to secure type certification , from the EASA . Powered by a 76 hp (58 kW) electric motor developed with Emrax , it offers a payload of 170 kg (370 lb), a cruise speed of 90 kn (170 km/h), and

9405-413: Was in 2003. In 2011, the aircraft won the 2011 Berblinger competition. In the late 2000s, a Chinese manufacturer of radio-controlled models Yuneec International developed and tested several battery-powered manned fixed-wing aircraft, including E430 , the first electric aircraft designed to be serially produced, but failed to commercialize them (only prototypes were built) and in the mid-2010s, turned to

9504-453: Was led by Cameron Robertson and Todd Reichert. The production Flyer was introduced on 6 June 2018. A license was not required to pilot the Flyer, as it was built under US FAR Part 103 ultralight regulations. After 25,000 unmanned or crewed flights combined, using 111 aircraft, Kitty Hawk ended the programme on 3 June 2020; CEO Sebastian Thrun stated that, with Flyer, the company "could not find

9603-570: Was made in 1884 by Charles Renard and Arthur Constantin Krebs in the French Army airship La France . La France made the first flight of an airship that landed where it took off; the 170 ft (52 m) long, 66,000 cu ft (1,900 m ) airship covered 8 km (5.0 mi) in 23 minutes with the aid of an 8.5 hp (6.3 kW) electric motor, and a 435 kg (959 lb) battery. It made seven flights in 1884 and 1885. In 1888,

9702-555: Was rebranded and spun off as a separate company called Wisk Aero. In 2019, Kitty Hawk introduced a new aircraft called the Heaviside. It is designed to be quieter than normal aircraft. In 2022, Kitty Hawk introduced the 2nd iteration of its Heaviside, named H2. Electric aircraft Crewed flights in an electrically powered airship go back to the 19th century, and to 1917 for a tethered helicopter . Electrically powered model aircraft have been flown at least since 1957, preceding

9801-440: Was up from 70 the previous year and included 60% from startups, 32% from aerospace incumbents, half of them major OEMs and 8% from academic, government organizations and non-aerospace companies, mainly from Europe (45%) and the U.S. (40%). Mostly urban air taxis (50%) and general aviation aircraft (47%), a majority are battery-powered (73%), while some are hybrid-electric (31%), most of these being larger airliners. By May 2019,

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