Solar Powered Transport

[kladner]

http://www.gizmag.com/sunseeker-duo-takes-flight/31751/

Solar two-seat plane, retractable main landing gear, prop folds when gliding unpowered.

The Sunseeker Duo has a wingspan of 22 meters (72 ft) and weight of 280 kg (617.3 lb). 1,510 solar cells line the wings and tail surfaces, gathering the sun's energy to be stored in the lithium-polymer battery pack located in the fuselage. The plane's motor has a maximum output of 25 kW, more than the team had initially hoped for.

Wow!

KW to Electric HP:

[Nick]

The Technical University of Delft compete every 2 years in the world solar powered car competition in Australia:
http://www.lr.tudelft.nl/?id=25836&L=1

Their solar powered aeroplane does not (yet) carry people:
http://www.tudelft.nl/studeren/bache...012/dragonfly/

[kladner]

http://www.gizmag.com/e-fan-airbus-e...c-plane/31823/

Manned electric-powered aircraft have made record-breaking flights and turned more than a few heads in the past few years, and it's not a trend that's likely to slow down. Last week, the E-Fan electric trainer airplane developed by the Airbus Group made its first public flight before a collection of French dignitaries. Currently a demonstrator for electric aircraft technology, Airbus says that is will be used as the basis for building a new pair of electric training aircraft models.

[Nick]

The TU Delft have just won the world solar challenge (ground vehicles) in South Africa
http://www.nuonsolarteam.nl/?lang=en

[kladner]

Tesla Trumps Toyota: Why Hydrogen Cars Can’t Compete With Pure Electric Cars

“Toyota Bets Against Tesla With New Hydrogen Car,” blares the headline at fool.com. That is a bad bet. It may even prove to be a major blunder for Toyota, which actually severed its RAV4 partnership with electric vehicle (EV) company Tesla back in May (though they kept their investment in Tesla).


I say that even though I own a Prius. In fact, I say it in part because I own a Prius. Fuel cell cars running on hydrogen simply won’t be greener than the Prius running on gasoline (!) — or even as practical as a mass-market vehicle — for a long, long time, if ever. So why buy one?


Right now, not only is electricity ubiquitous (i.e. relatively near where most cars are parked), but green electricity is nearly ubiquitous — and it is far cheaper to run one’s car on it than gasoline. Hydrogen, however, is not where cars are. “Green” hydrogen is nearly nonexistent. And it would be more expensive to run one’s car on green hydrogen than gasoline.

[Nick]

A record-breaking attempt to fly around the world in a solar-powered plane is set to get under way on Monday.
The aircraft - called Solar Impulse-2 - will take off from Abu Dhabi and head east, first to Oman, and then to India.
Over the next five months, it will skip from continent to continent, crossing both the Pacific and Atlantic oceans in the process.

Press article: http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-31772140

[kladner]

This cabin is also cramped, but at least it will be quieter than the Rutan-designed circumnavigating plane.