AERO Friedrichshafen shows alternative aircraft engines

Friedrichshafen, Germany - These days it seems everyone is talking about electric and hybrid drives, including manufacturers in general aviation. At AERO Friedrichshafen, the global show for general aviation (8-11 April 2010), you can see the latest environmentally-friendly alternative engine technologies, many of which have developed well beyond the prototype stage and are ready to go into production. The first aircraft powered by electric motors are already flying in the US, China and European countries. There are already plans for the large-scale production of a number of different types of these innovative aircraft.

Aircraft that are solely dependent upon electric power are still limited by the capacity of rechargeable batteries and their weight. This has prompted German manufacturer Flight Design to adopt a novel approach. The company has taken a 114 hp internal combustion engine and combined it with a 40 hp electric motor. During takeoff and when climbing, this provides virtually the same amount of power as a conventional 180 hp engine produced in the US. But there is a major difference: This modern hybrid drive is not only significantly lighter and far more fuel-efficient than boxer engines from the US, it can also run on inexpensive, lead-free car fuel, instead of leaded avgas. After all, there is a great deal of speculation over whether costly, leaded avgas aviation fuel will even still be widely available for piston-engine aircraft in the future. In any case, at AERO 2010 the role of hybrid drives in general aviation will be a major theme for the first time.

Another environmentally-friendly drive concept is also sure to win supporters at AERO 2010: diesel engines. In addition to Germany's Centurion Engines, the young Austrian manufacturer Austro Engines has acquired the necessary aviation certifications from the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), and along with France's SMA diesel engines, there are now three manufacturers ready to go in diverse performance classes, offering solutions for both new aircraft as well as retrofitting kits for older planes. Depending on their certification, these engines can run either on normal diesel from a filling station or on kerosene, which is available at airports around the world. Other manufacturers of diesel engines - primarily in the area of ultralight and experimental aircraft - are already conducting tests and plan to present their products at AERO 2010.

As the industry enters the new millennium, engines in general aviation will have to meet the demands for quiet, fuel-efficient and environmentally-friendly operation. These requirements are also met, of course, by fuel cell technology. This year the German Aerospace Center's research aircraft Antares H2 - a plane based on a motor glider - made the world's first hydrogen-powered flight. And in August, 2009 an ultralight aircraft was used to reproduce the legendary English Channel flight by Louis Blériot - the big difference being that today's aircraft was powered by an electric motor, which was solely fueled by a hydrogen tank. Of course this totally emissions-free technology is still in the embryonic stages, but developments are moving at a rapid pace and the initial results of a number of test flights for various aircraft will be presented at AERO 2010.

Without a doubt, the largest number of ecologically-driven aircraft at this year's AERO will once again be presented by manufacturers of electric aircraft. Just like in the automotive industry, many general aviation companies have now advanced their products beyond the prototype stage. In addition, increasingly efficient rechargeable batteries make for lower direct operational costs, rendering the new flight technology more competitive.

Since aircraft in the so-called Echo class - in other words, single-engine certified aircraft with a take-off weight of up to two tons - have to undergo lengthy and difficult certification processes, the new electric aircraft will primarily be found in the ultralight and motor glider category. Approval procedures for this type of aircraft can be completed far more simply, cheaply and quickly. And following the enormous success of the E-Flight-Expo, which was jointly staged by Messe Friedrichshafen and the World Directory of Leisure Aviation last year for the first time, the second edition of this innovative showcase will take place in 2010. It is also possible that the first air speed record holder for a purely electric-driven aircraft will be on display at the coming AERO. Last summer an Italian pilot achieved an impressive 252 kilometers per hour (157 mph) with an Alpi Aviation Pioneer 300 refitted with an electric motor, thus achieving the first official world air speed record for an electric aircraft. And that's just the beginning.

Additional information on AERO is available online at: www.aero-expo.de.