Inside Business Aviation
By William GarveyCOMMENTARYBusiness & Commercial
Aviation Editor-in-Chief
William Garvey blogs at:
AviationWeek.com
[email protected]A former U.S. Air Force pilot and
eager aviation entrepreneur—though it
came to naught, his ATG Javelin fi ghter-
trainer had drawn a lot of interest
internationally a few years earlier—he
became intrigued by the rapidly evolving
solar and battery power technologies
and their possible aviation applications.
The most populous civil aircraft ever,
the Cessna 172 was the workhorse of
the training segment. If electric propul-
sion could be adapted to that design,
training providers might be able to
slash operating costs even while rejuve-
nating their piston-powered fl eets.
And so Bye’s team set to work install-
ing an electric motor on a 1978-vin-
tage Skyhawk, along with a six-blade
composite prop and battery cells. Later
versions also were to be fi tted with so-
lar panels on the upper wing surfaces,
power vortex generators on the tips
and a regeneration system by which
the prop energized the battery as the
aircraft slowed and descended.
So how did that work out?
“It helped us conclude that for a solar
electric aircraft to be successful, it needs
to take full advantage of the latest in
structures, aerodynamics, and solar
and motor technologies,” Bye says. “The
idea of working with a legacy airplane is
appealing theory, but it creates too many
headaches in terms of weight and design
ef ciency, among other things. Purpose-
built is the way to go.”
That realization is what turned Bye’s
attention to Calin Gologan’s activities.
W
ell, it seemed like a good idea at the time. It was 2010, the
pilot training business was suf ering badly in the reces-sion, fuel costs were high, and training aircraft costs were sky
high. George Bye thought he might have an ideal solution.
Jump Start
Sun-splashed wings to lift the training industry
The founder and president of
PC-Aero in Germany, Gologan
had developed the sleek ultralight
Elektra One single-seat compos-
ite aircraft designed around a
13.5-kw electric engine (see top
photo ). The combination seemed
to address all the fl aws exposed by
the electric Skyhawk.
In de facto acknowledgment that
Gologan had the better approach,
Bye reached licensing and engineering
agreements with him to quick-start
a new program. Subsequently, Aero
Electric Aircraft Corp., a new subsid-
iary of Bye Aerospace, fi tted Elektra
One with new landing gear, prop and
instrumentation so it could serve as
its technology demonstrator. The
modifi ed aircraft fl ies out of Denver’s
Centennial Airport, Bye’s home base.
The goal is to use data from those
fl ight trials to fi ne-tune the design and
construction of a two-seat aircraft that
will serve as prototype for the Sun
Flyer, Bye’s long-sought electric trainer.
That aircraft—featuring four Panasonic
lithium-ion battery packs and solar
panels on the wings, horizontal tail and
behind the canopy—is expected to be
delivered by year-end.
If things come together as Bye hopes,
the Sun Flyer just might brighten the
outlook of fl ight school operators while
giving a lift to their bottom lines.
“It takes only $1 of electricity to fl y it
for an hour!” says Bye. “That energy cost
calculation should help revitalize generalaviation. It’s logistically independent in
that you don’t need to go buy avgas ever
again. The solar panels energize the bat-
teries whenever the Sun is shining, in the
air or on the ground. How cool is that?”
For those operators needing a faster
charge, particularly fl ight schools,
Bye says the system will be designed
so depleted batteries can be switched
for fresh ones in minutes. Moreover,
the aircraft will be virtually silent and
produce zero emissions, making it
neighborhood-friendly.
The plan is to certify the Sun Flyer for
day-and-night VFR operation; Bye hopes
approval will come within two years of
the prototype’s fi rst fl ight. Regeneration
elements could follow. Initial target price
is $200,000. “Flight schools desperately
need this product,” Bye says.
And even though no manufacturer has
yet been identifi ed, Spartan College
of Aeronautics and Technol-
ogy in Tulsa, Oklahoma,
recently signed for the
fi rst 20 Sun Flyers.ICD VS. ICE
Freezing cold,
ice and snow
have been
foremost on
the minds of many
this past winter. But
the engineers at Safe Flight Instrument
Corp. have been thinking about those
conditions for several years and doing
something about them.
The White Plains, New York, manu-
facturer has developed a small, infrared-
based unit that can alert pilots within
milliseconds of entering conditions
conducive to ice formation (see photo
above). Two aircraft manufacturers are
fl ight-testing the Icing Conditions Detec-
tor (ICD) ; those tests are expected to
conclude soon and production to begin.
“We have a contract to deliver,
starting this year,” says Safe Flight
Executive Vice President Matt Greene.
Initially, the ICD will serve as a pilot
advisory system, but it could be in-
tegrated into activating anti-icing or
deicing systems on complex aircraft.
The system, which comprises a
single, lightweight, line-replaceable
unit, has been in development for three
years. Initial certifi cation is expected
by year-end. c20 AVIATION WEEK & SPACE TECHNOLOGY/MARCH 30-APRIL 12, 2015 AviationWeek.com/awst
AEACSAFE FLIGHT CONCEPT