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 | more news available at the Solar-Flight BLOG | ||
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SUNSEEKER DUO nose gear installation November 5, 2011
Mock up of bulkhead. Carbon pre-preg fork, attached with titanium bolts.
Hard anodized integral shock strut, and details of John Lynch's machine work, of Rick McWilliam's design. http://www.tangentinstruments.com/
Main wheel with brake assembly. Big and light.
SUNSEEKER II display in Switzerland September 3, 2011 50 years of flying for the aero club in Motiers Switzerland was celebrated with an air show, showcasing a wide variety of aircraft. Irena and I first stopped at Mollis, and enjoyed the hospitality of the glider club there. I flew the SUNSEEKER on the ridge over the airfield, and Irena joined me in a club DG-500.
The day before the show was perfect weather, and all the pilots practiced their routines. I was asked to make a low pass, so I did. Later I found out that a low pass could not be lower than 50 meters, so the pass for the show was much higher.
Swiss TV was there for an interview, and some friends and relatives came to visit. My cousin George made this video of a low pass and landing.
SUNSEEKER DUO wing under construction August 14, 2011 With help from our new full time employee, Peter Stegovec, we are making good progress, concentrating on the wing at the moment.
Also a team from Germany headed by Karl Kaser is starting the engineering work on the center section and main landing gear.
SUNSEEKER DUO nose gear under construction May 22, 2011 The SUNSEEKER DUO project is truly an international effort. Consider that the fuselage was molded at Allstar Gliders in Poland, and with extensive support from Germany and Slovenia, the project is slowly gathering momentum, with help from people all over the World. Construction moves ahead, with high quality parts as the rule. Here we introduce the engineering effort on the nose gear from our friends in Santa Paula, California. The nose gear is a very important assembly, requiring shock absorbtion, steering, and retraction, all in a reliable light weight package. Introducing Rick McWilliams of http://www.tangentinstruments.com/ . Rick designed the trouble free nose gear for the Mermaid amphibian, so he got the job of designing our nose gear under very demanding weight and space constraints. Partnered with him is John Lynch, whose shop is also at the Santa Paula Airport, to turn the computer files into parts. While most of the parts of the new plane are composite or some type of plastic, this assembly will see large stresses, and requires great precision to function reliably. The shock absorber is integrated co-axially into the strut to save weight. A carbon pre-preg fork will be tested with the assembly, attaching to the nylon wheel.
Rick takes Irena Raymond for a ride in his helicopter. John readies the immaculate RV-4 he built outside his shop.
SUNSEEKER wins Berblinger competition April 17, 2011 Held this year in conjunction with the largest airshow in Europe, AERO in Friedrichshafen, Germany is now history. The winners were chosen from the pilots who completed the flight task, to Ulm and back. As the planes competing were so different, the judges chose three winners, each from a different class. Axel Lange received 45,000 Euros for his production Antares motor glider. Eric Raymond also received 45,000 Euros for the SUNSEEKER II. In the ultralight catagory, Manfred Ruhmer won 10,000 Euros with his electric SWIFT. You can download the press release with more info here: http://www.berblinger.ulm.de/html/press_pm
Take off for the race Axel's Antares with wing pods already in the air
Andrej Kolar from Naviter inputs the task into SeeYou for the race.
NANO Data logger provided by
Manfred, Axel, and Eric on the podium with the Major of Ulm In the Munsterplatz
SUNSEEKERS on display in Germany, at AERO April 13, 2011 With two displays in two different buildings we were quite busy this year. The new SUNSEEKER DUO was hosted by the EAA, and the older SUNSEEKER II was in the hall just for the Berblinger competitors.
SUNSEEKER flight to Triglav March 23, 2011 Flying from the Lesce Bled airport, I made a nice flight to Triglav, the highest mountain in Slovenia. Yesterday there was light wave lift, but today were no thermals, and not enough wind to make wave, just a bit of slope lift.
Eric Raymond gives TEDx speech January 25, 2011 Maribor, Slovenia. Today Eric Raymond gave a 15 minute talk on his solar powered aircraft, and future plans in that area.
Picturesque Maribor in January
SUNSEEKER DUO progress report December 26, 2010 Work on the new plane continues full time, despite difficulties getting materials and engineering support in this part Europe. The wing spar made from all pre-preg parts is under construction. The control surface upper skins are finished, with the solar cells.
From left to right yaw spoilers, flaperons, elevator, landing flap, and ailerons.
To improve spin recovery and gain span on the rudder, both a dorsal and ventral fin are being added. No molds were used for these parts.
Vacuum bag cure of pre-preg at 80 C. Not a bad shape for no mold! Only a few ribs were used to form the parts during the cure of the pre-preg. Thanks to Amber Composites low curing temperature pre-pregs, we could even adjust the shape during the cure!
Raphael Mutter fits the skin to the tail boom.
Eric with the first half for the horizontal tail.
Raphael lays up the all pre-preg Rohacell sandwich skins.
SUNSEEKER DUO shown at German Aero Club convention October 30, 2010 Today we visited the German city of Ulm with fine fall weather. With a last minute name change, we displayed parts from both SUNSEEKER and the new Duo version.
Important visitors included Gerhard Marzinzik from Aerokurier Magazine.
We had a visit from Icare test pilot Micro Schulz with his son Nano.
Also stopping by were staff from Langeflugzeugbau, including Axel Lange, designer of the Antares electric motor glider.
A new poster was displayed, with the name change, which more clearly defines what the new plane is intended to be.
Eric Raymond spoke in front of several hundred pilots about SUNSEEKER developments and the Europe Tour 2009 More pictures from the show are on the Blog.
Airtech Europe joins the SUNSEEKER DUO project October 21, 2010 Today the European division of Airtech Advanced Materials Group in Luxembourg announced that they will support Solar Flight's effort to develop new solar powered aircraft. AirTech Europe supplies the continent with the best vacuum bagging and composite tooling supplies available to the aerospace industry. These quality material are crucial for the production of the new SUNSEEKER DUO wings, as they are being made from pre-pregs, to resist the high temperatures generated by the solar cells.
German Aero Club convention October 30, 2010 Ulm, Germany Eric and Irena will be displaying the cockpit of the new two seater, and a section of wing with solar cells. In addition, Eric will open the convention with a one hour picture presentation on his Europe Tour, 2009 in the main lecture hall.
Scenic Flight over Lake Bled Sept 15, 2010 Photos by Irena, Dimona camera ship thanks to Daniel
June 20, 2010 SUNSEEKER makes 4 flights at historic Le Bourget Airport in Paris, France.
Also on display was the new two seater cockpit, which received compliments from the famous motor glider designer, Rene Fournier, who is now 89 years old.
The airshow was hosted by the French Air and Space museum. It's director, Gerard Feldzer also liked the new two seater.
June 15, 2010
SUNSEEKER II and III are headed for Paris Le Bourget airport for the first Green Air show there. http://www.aviation-verte.org/
A test flight was made in Slovenia prior to departure.
April 3, 2010
SUNSEEKER III fuselage arrives in our new shop in
Slovenia.
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February 10, 2010
Construction of the two seat SUNSEEKER III is underway! The campaign to build the fuselage has begun at the Allstar Glider factory in southern Poland. Our host is Andrej Papiorek, the owner. He is a glider pilot, and helping out a lot with materials, and techniques to build this new plane. Not to mention full use of his well equipped workshop. Many parts, and the molds themselves are being provided by Stemme GmbH. The window is here from Mecaplex in Switzerland, and will be installed by the experts here in Poland. A tricky job, that need to be done right! The fuselage is being molded from carbon fiber, with 100% Nomex honeycomb sandwich.
More pictures from the build are on the Solar Flight Blog.
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August 15, 2009 Solar
Flight Inc. concludes agreement with Stemme GmbH
Eric Raymond and Reiner Stemme have agreed in principal to using the S-10 motor glider molds for the new Sunseeker III for the fuselage at least. Many other small parts will also be used, right out of the Stemme production. Pictures from the visit are on the Solar Flight Blog
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July 4, 2009 European Tour Concludes in Spain
The European Tour draws to a close in the coastal town of Almeria after crossing France and Spain. During the Tour the Sunseeker established new records for electric aircraft, navigated over Europe's most challenging terrain and faced some of the continent's most demanding weather conditions. proving once again the viability of renewable energy sources for sport aircraft and the world at large. For a complete accounts and images from the Tour see the dedicated European Tour site.
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| June 14, 2009 World Air Games, Torino, Italy | |||
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The 2009 World Air Games in Torino are over. It was well organized and attended, and overall a great success. The weather was good, and there were no accidents. Eric Raymond flew the Sunseeker for demonstrations, and won a Gold Medal for the best Experimental aircraft. He also set two World Records for solar powered aircraft during the event. One for time in the air, the other for absolute altitude, about 20,380 feet. FAI ratification for these records is pending. The Sunseeker is now back in Zurich Switzerland, in preparation for the next leg of the European Tour, heading for the south of Spain. For details, go to the European Tour site. |
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| June 3, 2009 Flight in Slovenia from Lesce Bled to Ajdovscina, home of the Pipistrel factory | |||
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With increasing north wind, and low cloud bases, I made my escape from Lesce airport, taking off before the crowd of waiting sailplanes. It was turbulent, but I was able to ridge soar up to the clouds and head south, where the weather was perfect, with no wind! The Adriatic sea was in sight, but my goal was to visit one of the world’s most innovative aircraft producers, so down I spiraled. Pipestrel welcomed the Sunseeker into their state of the art shop, and soon I was flying again, in a production Taurus motor glider. We soared for a while with some paragliders on the ridge over the shop, and then the test pilot let me land it. Very nice flying airplane. For details, go to the European Tour site. Tomorrow we head for Venice, weather permitting. > pictures from the flight |
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| May 31, 2009 Flying at the Slovenian national Giding Championships | |||
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After a very nice visit to Diamond Aircraft at the Wiener Neustadt airport, we have relocated to Lesce Bled, Slovenia, just at the beginning of their sailplane national championships. Despite bad weather forecasts, the Sunseeker has been able to fly every day. Taking off just before the start of competition everyone watched, as I was able to take off from the grass, and climb up over the clouds. The views are spectacular here at the base of the Julian Alps, with lakes and castles to explore. Next stop is the Pipestrel aircraft factory a short distance to the south, with perhaps a detour to the coast. For details, go to the European Tour site. > pictures from the flight |
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| May 26, 2009 Flight from Lienz, Austria to Wiener Neustadt | |||
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We bid farewell to our new friends in Lienz, as the Sunseeker launched just after 11:00 am. Conditions were very calm and no updrafts were found for the first hour.
Then I happened to fly over a hang gliding contest about to begin. There were about 50 gliders on the mountain waiting, and a few in the air. I circled around with them for a few minutes, without gaining any altitude. The very next ridge provided a good updraft, all the way to the clouds. From there I decided to motor over the clouds, which developed higher and higher during the day. The Sunseeker was still climbing at 14,000 feet, when I shut the motor off. While there were terrible thunderstorms below, the flat lands ahead stayed clear for the rest of the day, so no weather was encountered, but the cloudscapes were spectacular, as these pictures show.
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| May 24, 2009 Short ferry flight into Austria | |||
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As thunderstorms were approaching Toblach, our host Erwin Auserhoffer arranged for a hanger not too far away. As it turns out, Erwin is a hang glider pilot also, and flew the same rigid wings that I used to fly. He flew in many contests also, and did very well. Taking off the grass at this altitude seemed a challenge but with perfect wind from the front it was no problem. The flight was very turbulent, but our destination Lienz was very nice and friendly, so we decided to take some time off to wait out the weather. We are planning to fly to Wiener Neustadt this week, to visit Diamond Aircraft. For details and photos, go to the European Tour site. > pictures from the flight |
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| May 23, 2009 Sunseeker II Flies from Schanis, Switzerland to Toblach, Italy. | |||
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Today I took off in the Sunseeker in front of about 40 sailplanes, as they waited for conditions to improve, just before noon. Once in the air, I found out why they were waiting as there were no updrafts at all. The air was still, so I slowly climbed on course to the east, using my combination of solar power and batteries. Without any updrafts I climbed 6000 feet in 45 minutes. Then coming to a paragliding hill I found some updrafts, so I shut off the motor. In front of me the mountains were higher and higher, with no end in sight. A strong west wind helped my progress, but made it very turbulent. At one point I was surprised to see 11 people cross country skiing very far from any valley. I think that there were brought in by helicopter. It made me feel not so alone in this land of endless snow and glaciers. My host for the day met me in another airplane before I reached Toblach. As he had a television camera man onboard, we turned straight south, and flew around in the Dolomites for a few hours. I was flying too high for them, and the camera man nearly froze, with the door missing from the plane. I only opened my window to take pictures, as it was cold. The Dolomites have massive vertical rock spires that are amazing to see and fly around. You can see from these pictures. The landing field was grass, and I was surprised to find out quite high. After landing and taxiing in, I was immediately interviewed for television, by my host Erwin Ausserhofer. Despite the fact that we were in Italy, everyone spoke German, so I did the interview in German. This part of South Tyrol was part of Austria until the end of the First World War. All the signs are in German first and Italian second. For details and photos, go to the European Tour site. > pictures from the flight |
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| May 4, 2009 Sunseeker II Flies the length of Italy, from Torino to Sicily | |||
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| After crossing the Alps with the Sunseeker II, Eric Raymond traveled down the length of Italy, ending up on Sicily after 6 flights. For details and photos, go to the European Tour site. | |||
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| April 14, 2009 Sunseeker II Crosses the alps! | |||
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For the first time in history, a solar powered aircraft has crossed over the alps, from Zirich to Torino. For details and photos, go to the European Tour site. |
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| April 5, 2009 - Solar Flight's Sunseeker II Awarded Best of Show at AERO Friedrichshafen's First E-flight Expo | |||
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| Eric Raymond received the award for 'most innovative project' at AERO Friedrichshafen's first semi-annual E-flight expo. The `show within a show' is intended to showcase electric, ecological and evolutionary aircraft projects. Solar Flight and the Sunseeker II have begun the first ever Tour of Europe made by a solar-powered aircraft. Updates, images, and all information regarding the Tour can be followed at its dedicated site: solar-flight.com/europetour. | |||
| March 10, 2009 - Solar Flight to Launch Sunseeker II's European Tour at AERO Friedrichshafen | |||
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| Solar Flight will take Sunseeker II on a flying tour around Europe following its featured presentation at the e-fight expo (April 2-5) in conjunction with AERO Friedrichshafen. The tour will be the longest journey for the Sunseeker since 1990 when its predecessor, Sunseeker I, crossed the United States in 21 fights. Sunseeker II is now ftted with more effcient solar cells, a more powerful motor, and new lithium polymer batteries, all of which contribute to the new airplane's higher performance and greater utility. The tour will cover 8 countries: Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Hungary, Slovenia, Italy, France and Spain. | |||
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| November 14, 2008 - The Sunseeker Shows Outstanding Performance even as Winter Looms in Switzerland | |||
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| Performance expectations for solar powered vehicles drop off as the sun angle retreats during the winter months. The Sunseeker, however, is still flying fantastically despite a less-than-ideal November sun. Eric Raymond manages to fly the Sunseeker regularly. He snapped these photos on his most recent flight and reported from another impressive flight on Nov. 8th, "I managed to climb up over the clouds where it was very bright and cold, and then flew back and forth on the sunny side of a row of clouds that towered over me, bathing in the reflected light. It was blindingly bright; I left my sun glasses behind, thinking it would just be a typical dull grey day. I flew back and forth for a while on direct solar input, slowly climbing. I got just to the top of the highest clouds, then I turned off the motor to verify that there were no updrafts helping me climb." | |||
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| August, 2008 - The Sunseeker Now Flying Routinely Over Switzerland | |||
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| Eric Raymond is taking advantage of
the opportunity to fly the Sunseeker on a regular basis; the Sunseeker
has now made several flights from its new home field in Switzerland. Raymond
reports, "Buttwil airport is situated on top of a ridge that is usually
soarable. Taking off from the wet grass takes some power, but I usually
can turn the motor off within a few minutes. Then I ride the updrafts until
I reach the clouds. By then my batteries are fully recharged, so I switch
the motor back on and climb up between the clouds. On top it is clear, cold
and bright, perfect conditions for solar cells! At that point I can fly
above the clouds for several hours on direct solar power, but I usualy glide
down below the clouds to see who else is flying. Sailplanes, hang gliders,
paragliders, balloons, as well as birds in abundance!" Already the fastest manned solar powered airplane ever built, the Sunseeker is now performing better than ever thanks to recent weight saving efforts. Two new lighter parachutes, one worn by the pilot and one that is attached to the airframe and deployed by a rocket, were built by Free Flight Enterprises and installed by Brian Johnson. The new parachutes make use of advanced materials such as Spectra and Kevlar, which give incredibly high performance with very low weight. Also slated for the updates will be the replacement of steel springs in the main landing gear with carbon fiber air shocks, a new radio and transponder to comply with European standards, and possibly a new motor controller that will be smaller and lighter making room for a high altitude oxygen system and also adding the capability of regenerative braking from the propeller. |
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| August 6, 2008 - Eric Raymond Flies the Sunseeker in Europe for the First Time | |||
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| After much anticipation the Sunseeker has taken to the Swiss skies. Wednesday evening, flying for the first time off of a grass runway, the Sunseeker with Eric Raymond in the cockpit motored quietly into the sky. Raymond made a quick 20 km loop and landed safely before the sun set. A small crowd of observers had their doubts layed to rest, for most, it was their first time seeing an electric airplane - not to mention a solar powered one! The Sunseeker is resting back in its hanger waiting to be flown again soon. | |||
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| May, 2008 - Sunseeker is Moving to Europe in Preparation for FAI World Air Games 2009 | |||
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| For the FAI World Air Games 2009 to be held in Torino, Italy, the Sunseeker is being shipped to Europe. Eric Raymond will be flying it there in preparation for several publicity flights to be made later this year. At the World Air Games the Sunseeker will be on display in an effort to raise awareness of the potentials that available technologies offer to the advancement of general aviation. | |||
