NASA's Electric Airplane Project Moves Forward

Mentioned in the NASA video at the YouTube link below are the reasons this
revolutionary technology are an exciting step forward for aviation.

* Four horsepower per pound are achievable with electric systems. This is
comparable to turbine engine performance.

* Ninety-five percent efficiency is possible with electric propulsion
systems compared to 45% turbine engine efficiency. This translates into
reduced fuel costs and emissions.

* The technology aims to achieve an 80% reduction in energy requirements.


Notice the rear-facing wing-tip engines on this concept drawing:
http://www.aero-news.net/images/content/aerospace/2015/Airborne-NasaLeapTech-031915.jpg.
Is this a means of overcoming the drag produced by counter rotating wing-tip
vortices inherent in virtually all current aircraft?


E-Thrust Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=71blB6hNV0g
The Future of Airliners is Electric:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=71blB6hNV0g

More
information:https://translate.google.com/translate?sl=auto&tl=en&js=y&prev=_t&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.aerovfr.com%2F2015%2F02%2Fl e-projet-leaptech-de-joby-aviation%2F&edit-text=&act=url.

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http://www.avweb.com/avwebflash/news/NASAs-Electric-Airplane-Project-Moves-Forward-223711-1.html

NASA's Electric Airplane Project Moves Forward
By Mary Grady | March 18, 2015

Photo: NASA concept:
http://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/leaptech_demonstrator_concept.jpg

NASA engineers are now testing an airplane wing fitted with 18 electric motors,
and they plan to replace the wings and engine of a Tecnam P2006T with an
improved version of the system within the next two years. The project, called
LEAPTech, for Leading Edge Asynchronous Propeller Technology, "is a key element
of NASA's plan to help a significant portion of the aircraft industry
transition to electrical propulsion within the next decade," according to a
NASA news release. The 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.

Photo: NASA's truck-based test rig (300 HP)
http://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/dsc00230_heist_truck.jpg
http://www.nasa.gov/centers/armstrong/Features/leaptech.html


The test rig is fitted to a specially modified truck, and will be driven at
speeds up to 70 mph across a dry lakebed at Edwards Air Force Base. The rig
completed preliminary testing last December at Oceano, California. Each motor
can be operated independently at different speeds for optimized performance.
Key potential benefits of LEAPTech, NASA said this week, include decreased
reliance on fossil fuels, improved aircraft performance and ride quality, and
aircraft noise reduction. The project is a key element of NASA’s plan to help a
significant portion of the aircraft industry transition to electrical
propulsion within the next decade. According to Mark Moore, an aerodynamicist
at Langley, "LEAPTech has the potential to achieve transformational
capabilities in the near-term for general aviation aircraft, as well as for
transport aircraft in the longer-term." Partners in the project include two
California companies, Empirical Systems Aerospace (ESAero) in Pismo Beach:
http://www.esaero.com/clients.html, and Joby Aviation, in Santa Cruz:
http://www.jobyaviation.com/LEAPTech/.

This PDF from a recent public talk provides more details about the technology.


view on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hhL2-Lykl9s

Related Files

View pdf:
http://www.avweb.com/avwebflash/news/Distributed_Electric_Propulsion_Research.php


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http://www.nasa.gov/centers/armstrong/Features/leaptech.html#.VQxWjPm_21n
EAPTech to Demonstrate Electric Propulsion Technologies
March 16, 2015

Technicians unload the LEAPTech experimental wing upon its arrival at NASA
Armstrong Flight Research Center.

Technicians unload the LEAPTech experimental wing upon its arrival at NASA
Armstrong Flight Research Center. Ground testing will begin after the wing is
mounted on a specially modified truck.
Image Credit: NASA Photo / Tom Tschida

Mounted on a specially modified truck he LEAPTech ground-test article will be
driven at speeds up to 70 miles per hour.

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

Within a few years the NASA hopes to fly a piloted X-plane with an improved
version of the LEAPTech wing.

Within a few years NASA hopes to fly a piloted X-plane, replacing the wings and
engines of a Tecnam P2006T with an improved version of the LEAPTech wing. Using
an existing airframe will allow engineers to compare the performance of the
flight demonstrator with that of the original P2006T.
Image Credit: NASA Graphic

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.

LEAPTech is a key element of NASA’s plan to help a significant portion of the
aircraft industry transition to electrical propulsion within the next decade.
According to Mark Moore, an aerodynamicist at Langley, “LEAPTech has the
potential to achieve transformational capabilities in the near-term for general
aviation aircraft, as well as for transport aircraft in the longer-term.”

Peter Merlin, Public Affairs
NASA Armstrong Flight Research Center