Mounted on a specially modified truck he LEAPTech ground-test article, or Hybrid-Electric Integrated Systems Testbed, will be driven at speeds up to 70 miles per hour across a dry lakebed at Edwards Air Force Base. Last December, it underwent preliminary testing at Oceano, California.
Image Credit: Joby Aviation
The arrival of a unique experimental demonstrator at NASA Armstrong Flight Research Center on February 26 may herald a future in which many aircraft are powered by electric motors.
The Leading Edge Asynchronous Propeller Technology (LEAPTech) project will test the premise that tighter propulsion-airframe integration, made possible with electric power, will deliver improved efficiency and safety, as well as environmental and economic benefits. Over the next several months, NASA researchers will perform ground testing of a 31-foot-span, carbon composite wing section with 18 electric motors powered by lithium iron phosphate batteries.
The experimental wing, called the Hybrid-Electric Integrated Systems Testbed (HEIST), is mounted on a specially modified truck. Testing on the mobile ground rig assembly will provide valuable data and risk reduction applicable to future flight research. Instead of being installed in a wind tunnel, the HEIST wing section will remain attached to load cells on a supporting truss while the vehicle is driven at speeds up to 70 miles per hour across a dry lakebed at Edwards Air Force Base. Preliminary testing, up to 40 mph, took place in January at Oceano County Airport on California’s Central Coast.
The LEAPTech project began in 2014 when researchers from NASA Langley Research Center and Armstrong partnered with two California companies, Empirical Systems Aerospace (ESAero) in Pismo Beach and Joby Aviation in Santa Cruz. ESAero is the prime contractor for HEIST responsible for system integration and instrumentation, while Joby is responsible for design and manufacture of the electric motors, propellers, and carbon fiber wing section.
The truck experiment is a precursor to a development of a small X-plane demonstrator proposed under NASA’s Transformative Aeronautics Concepts program. Researchers hope to fly a piloted X-plane within the next couple years after removing the wings and engines from an Italian-built Tecnam P2006T and replacing them with an improved version of the LEAPTech wing and motors. Using an existing airframe will allow engineers to easily compare the performance of the X-plane with the original P2006T.
Each motor can be operated independently at different speeds for optimized performance. Key potential benefits of LEAPTech include decreased reliance on fossil fuels, improved aircraft performance and ride quality, and aircraft noise reduction.
Read more: LEAPTech to Demonstrate Electric Propulsion Technologies
The Latest on: Electric Aircraft
via Google News
The Latest on: Electric Aircraft
- Global Aircraft Engines Market Historical and future trends 2020-2026| Zion Market Researchon February 24, 2021 at 10:43 pm
The Global Aircraft Engines Market Historical and future trends 2020 2026 Zion Market Research distributed and advanced by Zion Market Research gives inside and out portion investigation of the ...
- Watch first footage of Joby’s all-electric VTOL aircraft in flighton February 24, 2021 at 8:49 pm
California-based Joby Aviation has released the first footage of its zero-emissions aircraft in flight, zipping through the sky at speeds of up to 200 mph.
- Electric-Air-Taxi Firm Joby to Go Public Via Reinvent SPACon February 24, 2021 at 6:35 pm
The electric-air-taxi startup Joby is going public through a merger with special purpose acquisition company Reinvent Technology Partners.
- Electric Aircraft Developer Backed by JetBlue, Uber to Go Publicon February 24, 2021 at 10:55 am
Joby Aviation, a transportation company developing an all-electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft, is going public as part of a merger with special purpose acquisition company Reinvent ...
- Joby Aviation is going public, reveals its electric aircraft in flight for the first timeon February 24, 2021 at 8:24 am
Joby Aviation, the electric aviation company based in Northern California, is the latest futuristic mobility company to go public via a reverse merger with a special purpose acquisition company, or ...
- NASA wants to play a big part in the development of electric aircrafton February 24, 2021 at 4:21 am
NASA is working with the aviation industry to develop Electrified Aircraft Propulsion tools and designs in a bid to introduce the systems to commercial flights by 2035.
- ERAU Electric Aircraft Reaches Milestoneon February 23, 2021 at 11:42 am
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University’s “eSpirit” electric aircraft has reached the taxi-test stage after four years of development.
- Electric Aircraft Demand Seen Growing for Deliverieson February 15, 2021 at 3:12 pm
Electric aircraft such as drones could account for 30% of same-day package deliveries by 2040 as network scale dramatically brings down costs, according to L.E.K. Consulting. The exact market share ...
- How 2 startup founders with no aviation experience landed a $1 billion deal to make electric aircraft for Unitedon February 14, 2021 at 3:38 am
Archer Aviation is planning to go public via a SPAC deal that would put its valuation at $3.8 billion.
- Is This Electric Flying Aircraft The Taxi Of The Future? United Airlines Thinks Soon February 12, 2021 at 2:45 am
This could be the closest we’ve come to seeing flying cars finally become a reality. Introducing Palo Alto aviation startup Archer, known for developing eVTOL aircraft.
via Bing News
