Competition Creates Innovation in Green Aircraft Design – Biofuels, Electric Airpalnes and More

The Green Flight Centennial Challenge kicked off on Sunday and runs all week in Santa Rosa California. The $1.65 million competition is designed to spur research and design innovation in the aviation industry. As part of the competition this week, teams from all around the country will test electric, biofueled and hybrid-powered aircraft. The competition will award the cash prize to the team with the most fuel-efficient small aircraft.

According to a statement from NASA, in order to win what is the largest aviation prize ever offered, teams will have to fly their aircraft 200 miles in less than two hours and must do so while consuming less than one gallon of fuel per occupant. For electric aircraft designs, the teams must use what is considered an equivalent amount of electricity to the combustion aircraft. Among the aircraft which perform within these standards, the ultimate winner will be based on the “best combination of speed and efficiency.”

The design goals are a vast improvement over current fuel efficiencies of aircraft. Most small private aircraft average from 5 to 50 passenger miles per gallon in contrast with the 200 required of the contest winner. While better than private aircraft because of the number of passengers which they can carry, large commercial aircraft flown by airlines are still on about 25%-50% as efficient as the contest winning aircraft will be.

To ensure that the winning aircraft is also a practical one, some performance requirements must also be met. Some of those include an average speed of at least 100 mph, a take-off distance of less than 2,000 feet to clear a 50-foot obstacle, and deliver a decibel level below 78 dBA at full power takeoff, as measured from a 250-foot sideline.

Of the 13 teams which originally entered the challenge, only 5 remain in contention for the grand prize after having met all requirements of the competition.

For those interested in seeing some of these aircraft, 10 of the competing aircraft will be on display to the public from Sept. 26 – Oct. 1 between 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. local time at the Sonoma County Airport.

Among the aircraft on display are: the first full-scale, electric-powered aircraft to fly in a competition, the first four-seat electric aircraft ever to fly, and the largest battery pack ever developed for a flight vehicle.