September 10, 2009

 

 Solar Flight has completed negotiations with NASA program managers that promises support for the new two Seat SUNSEEKER III.

Officials at Ames Research Center on Moffet Field in Sunnyvale, California believe Solar Flights goals are worthy of NASA support.

Picture from the visit are on the Solar Flight Blog, and Eric Raymond's FaceBook page.

 
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 smal parts will also be used, right out of the Stemme production.

Picture from the visit are on the Solar Flight Blog

 
 
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.

 
 
 
June 14, 2009 World Air Games, Torino, Italy
 
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.
 
 
June 3, 2009 Flight in Slovenia from Lesce Bled to Ajdovscina, home of the Pipistrel factory
 
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
 
 
May 31, 2009 Flying at the Slovenian national Giding Championships
 
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
 
 
May 26, 2009 Flight from Lienz, Austria to Wiener Neustadt
 

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.

After finding the airfield Wiener Neustadt East, where Diamond Aircraft is based, I prepared to land, and found a strong cross wind off the buildings. It made for a turbulent landing, and taxiing was almost impossible, but the staff from Diamond came out to help me, and the Sunseeker is now in their shop waiting for better weather, as we plan the next leg of the trip. For details and photos, go to the European Tour site.

> pictures from the flight

 
 
May 24, 2009 Short ferry flight into Austria
 
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
 
 
May 23, 2009 Sunseeker II Flies from Schanis, Switzerland to Toblach, Italy.
 
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
 
 
May 4, 2009 Sunseeker II Flies the length of Italy, from Torino to Sicily
 
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.
 
 
 
 
April 14, 2009 Sunseeker II Crosses the alps!
 

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.
 
 
 
 
April 5, 2009 - Solar Flight's Sunseeker II Awarded Best of Show at AERO Friedrichshafen's First E-flight Expo
 
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
 
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.
 
 
 
 
November 14, 2008 - The Sunseeker Shows Outstanding Performance even as Winter Looms in Switzerland
 
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."
 
 
 
August, 2008 - The Sunseeker Now Flying Routinely Over Switzerland
 
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.
 
 
 
August 6, 2008 - Eric Raymond Flies the Sunseeker in Europe for the First Time
 
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.
 
 
 
May, 2008 - Sunseeker is Moving to Europe in Preparation for FAI World Air Games 2009
 
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.