Energy News  
Record Set For Fuel-Cell-Powered, Radio-Controlled Airplane Flight

Endurance had enough fuel to fly for five more hours, but it had to land at dusk because it wasn't made to fly at night. The plane flew almost 99 miles over the course of the day as students took turns flying it in a holding pattern.
by Staff Writers
Ann Arbor MI (SPX) Nov 17, 2008
The longest fuel-cell-powered flight of a radio-controlled aerial vehicle has been achieved by students at the University of Michigan and engineers at Ann Arbor-based fuel-cell manufacturer Adaptive Materials.

Their plane, named Endurance, flew for 10 hours, 15 minutes and four seconds in a flight that lasted from sunrise to sunset on Oct. 30, 2008, at Field of Dreams Park in Milan, Mich. The previous world record, held by a California-based company, lasted just over nine hours.

The student SolarBubbles team built the airframe, which has an eight-foot wingspan. Adaptive Materials funded the project and built the aerial vehicle's propane-powered solid oxide fuel cell. The Adaptive Materials fuel cell for the aerial vehicle was a hybrid battery system.

"It's great to be at the forefront of radio-controlled vehicles," said Nick Rooney, a senior aerospace engineering undergraduate who is the leader of SolarBubbles. "I'm really excited about this and proud of all the people who have worked on it."

Adaptive Materials has worked extensively in the air vehicle space and will work with SolarBubbles to achieve a 20-hour test flight.

"It's critical for unmanned aerial vehicles to have extended flight times to provide the functionality needed for military missions," said Michelle Crumm, chief business officer at Adaptive Materials.

"The flight time achieved with the SolarBubbles team surpassed any of Adaptive Materials' previous work with aerial vehicles and shows that we're just scratching the surface for what's possible with a lightweight, reliable fuel cell."

Endurance had enough fuel to fly for five more hours, but it had to land at dusk because it wasn't made to fly at night. The plane flew almost 99 miles over the course of the day as students took turns flying it in a holding pattern.

"SolarBubbles is an extraordinary student team with the enthusiasm, ingenuity and dedication to accomplish most any goal," said Ella Atkins, an associate professor in the Department of Aerospace Engineering and one of the team's advisers.

"The 10-plus hour Endurance flight represented the highly successful culmination of a long progression of design, build and test cycles. I look forward to continued support of the team as they pursue even more ambitious flight endurance goals."

The SolarBubbles team designs, builds and tests unmanned aircraft. In addition to this fuel cell project, students are working to build a solar-powered unmanned aircraft with a wingspan smaller than 15 feet that can fly for more than 36 hours.

Atkins is also an associate professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science.

Share This Article With Planet Earth
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit
YahooMyWebYahooMyWeb GoogleGoogle FacebookFacebook



Related Links
SolarBubbles
Michigan Engineering
Adaptive Materials
Powering The World in the 21st Century at Energy-Daily.com



Memory Foam Mattress Review
Newsletters :: SpaceDaily :: SpaceWar :: TerraDaily :: Energy Daily
XML Feeds :: Space News :: Earth News :: War News :: Solar Energy News


Largest permanent CO2 storage in Wyoming
Washington (UPI) Nov 17, 2008
The largest permanent carbon dioxide storage will be at a Wyoming site, the U.S. Department of Energy said when awarding $66.9 million for the project.







  • Largest permanent CO2 storage in Wyoming
  • China defends investments in DR Congo
  • Russia says pipeline talks with China to resume
  • High Growth Forecasted For Large And Advanced Battery Technology And Markets

  • Uranium Resources To Conduct Exploratory Drilling In New Mexico
  • SCE Reduces Environmental Impact Of Coastal Power Generation
  • Algeria, Argentina strike deal on nuclear energy
  • Power company offers nuke-heavy power plan

  • Brown clouds of pollution a huge threat to Asia: UN
  • Global Methane Levels On The Rise Again
  • Measuring The Weight Of Ancient Air
  • On Rocky Mountain Beetle Kill Could Impact Regional Air Quality

  • Left untouched, world's largest mangrove forest recovering fast
  • Nobel winner urges protection for key forests in UN talks
  • Brazil sees carbon market saving Amazon
  • Living fossil Helps Predict Rainforest Future

  • International talks to save overfished tuna start in Morocco
  • China milk inspectors beaten over tough checks: state media
  • Fishery meeting could decide bluefin tuna's fate
  • CottASSIST: Tools For Cotton Management

  • Thompson Files: Save GM to stay strong
  • Octillion Advances Technologies That Generate Electricity From Moving Vehicles
  • White Vans Go Green
  • Troubled GM says it is profitable in China, will continue to invest

  • Two China airlines to get govt aid: state media
  • China's air show saw four bln dollars in deals: report
  • China plane-makers take first steps to rival global giants
  • Aviation giants look to China amid global turbulence



  • The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2007 - SpaceDaily.AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by SpaceDaily on any Web page published or hosted by SpaceDaily. Privacy Statement