First electric Helicopter

[Gnarly Gnu]

During a recent flight by Tier 1 Engineering in Costa Mesa, California,

 

[/url]a full-size fully electric helicopter

 

flew successfully through hover, takeoff, cruise, and landing. The battery-powered helicopter reached an altitude of 400 feet above the ground and a maximum speed of 92 mph during the short but historic five-minute flight.

 

 

 

Nice, but was hoping it might be quieter, seems copters are all prop noise. Also 500kg of batteries is a drag... instead a really long extension cord?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[bexrbetter]

Completely wrong application, needs the bulk of it's power just to lift off leaving little for cruise time.

 

Need more cruise time then need more battery weight, needing more energy just to lift off, they should name it the "Paradox".

 

 

[Flying Binghi]

Actually, I think the Sikorsky Firefly were the first man carrying electric helicopter.

 

(Yeah, I know. It's an old thread)

 

 

[Guest Guest]

Interesting excersise but man simply isn't at the stage of viable powered electric flight commercially, we are floundering in this area. Be a very long time before we see results that will overthrow hydrocarbon products, many lifetimes away I'd say.

 

My namesake will always win! -:)

 

 

[Flying Binghi]

I wonder why they bothered. The power requirements of the airframe and rotor systems that were used is well known. The power out put of any battery and electric motor combination is easy enough to work out. The running time of the electric helicopter could have been worked out by any competent engineer before the projects were ever built.

 

 

[eightyknots]

Completely wrong application, needs the bulk of it's power just to lift off leaving little for cruise time.Need more cruise time then need more battery weight, needing more energy just to lift off, they should name it the "Paradox".

Yes. And, unlike hydrocarbon consuming helicopters, the aircraft does not get lighter over the duration of the flight because batteries weigh essentially the same full or empty.

 

 

[eightyknots]

Interesting excersise but man simply isn't at the stage of viable powered electric flight commercially, we are floundering in this area. Be a very long time before we see results that will overthrow hydrocarbon products, many lifetimes away I'd say.My namesake will always win! -:)

So, your namesake is "Guest" ?

 

 

[Flying Binghi]

So, your namesake is "Guest" ?

Flys multiple call-signs, eh..

 

 

[pmccarthy]

We could have guest.

 

 

[Flying Binghi]

Let's treat this with the proper gravitas..

 

 

[Raytol]

About 5 years ago I saw a battery powered helicopter flying at Bankstown Airport flown by Peter Wieland.

 

A long time before the Sikorski Firefly. I saw the prototype Firefly at Oshkosh that year and the reps said that

 

it had not flown yet.

 

Impractical idea dropped by the Wieland Helicopter team which went broke afterwards.