Paris Green Air Show

A couple days ago I promised to follow up on the Paris Green Air Show so here we go.

The show is held (2010 is the 2nd year) at the Musee Air + Despace, at Le Bourget airport, the field where Charles Lindbergh landed the Spirit of St. Louis and where the huge Paris Air Show takes place every other year (next up in 2011).

It's mission statement is implicit from the phrase on the evocative splash drawing: "L'aviation du futur". It took a bit of digging and some web translations to find out more about the show that Gizmag first posted about the other day.  

The explosion of imaginative designs and concepts at the show is staggering: very much like the first years of aviation after 1903.  Dirigibles large and small, including man-powered balloons; aircraft engines with zero CO2 emissions; aircraft powered by electric, solar and hydrogen fuel cell engines; noise and pollution reducing sustainable development concepts for airports, runways and aircraft "villages": all in all, quite a hoot, I'd love to go to the next one.

Exhibitions included:

*    Sunseeker II and III, Eric Raymond's solar-powered motorglider that has 121 hours of flight logged and has crossed the U.S. on sunlight alone.

*    Alatus-M, an electric-powered ultralight composite motorglider with some amazing features: cartoppable like a hang glider, certified to German and American standards (FAR-103), retractable engine platform, one person/40 minute setup. Electravia electric engine delivers 26 hp and 1hour 30 min. flight time.  Empty weight is 253 lbs., with another 264 lb. load capability.  At current exchange rates, you can buy one today for $43,400.

*    The APEV electric Demoichelle, an ultralight-style "flying ladder" wing and three-axis framework, initially powered by a small Rotax, now fitted with an electric engine: the AGNI 112 R electric motor, with Lithium Polymer KOKAM 74V batteries.  

*    And here's a shot of the electric powerplant for the e-Fun Flyer para-trike I mentioned last post.

Lots more to read about, check out the links above.

   --- whale graphic by Studio Massaud & ONERA; other images courtesy Gizmag