Electrically Powered Ultralight Aircraft

Here is news of a 48 minute flight in the Alps by what appears to be a
conventional single-place aircraft:


http://www.apame.eu/AA%20Projects.html

ASSOCIATION POUR LA PROMOTION DES AERONEFS A MOTORISATION
ELECTRIQUE

WORLDWIDE PREMIE FIRST AIRCRAFT FLIGHT WITH ELECTRICAL ENGINE

On Sunday December 23rd [2007] at 11:50 am took place the first
flight of the Electra F-WMDJ, equipped with electrical engine of
25cv and Lithium polymer batteries. ... his 48 minutes flight
over more than 50 kilometers realized in closed circuit is the
world premiere flight of this type.

Photos...


This new silicon nanowire technology claims to produce ten times the amount of electricity of existing lithium-ion cells. It could be the enabling technology for electric aircraft, not to mention what it might do for automobiles:


http://news-service.stanford.edu/new...re-010908.html
Stanford Report, December 18, 2007
Stanford's nanowire battery holds 10 times the charge of existing
ones

BY DAN STOBER

Stanford researchers have found a way to use silicon nanowires to
reinvent the rechargeable lithium-ion batteries that power
laptops, iPods, video cameras, cell phones, and countless other
devices.

The new version, developed through research led by Yi Cui,
assistant professor of materials science and engineering, produces
10 times the amount of electricity of existing lithium-ion, known
as Li-ion, batteries. A laptop that now runs on battery for two
hours could operate for 20 hours, a boon to ocean-hopping business
travelers.

"It's not a small improvement," Cui said. "It's a revolutionary
development."

The breakthrough is described in a paper, "High-performance
lithium battery anodes using silicon nanowires," published online
Dec. 16 in Nature Nanotechnology, written by Cui, his graduate
chemistry student Candace Chan and five others.

The greatly expanded storage capacity could make Li-ion batteries
attractive to electric car manufacturers. Cui suggested that they
could also be used in homes or offices to store electricity
generated by rooftop solar panels.

"Given the mature infrastructure behind silicon, this new
technology can be pushed to real life quickly," Cui said. ...