This past week has been an exciting time in the history of green aviation. Qualifying teams took part in the 2011 Green Flight Challenge, a competition challenging independent teams to fly their aircraft 200 miles in less than two hours using the energy equivalent of just 1 gallon of gas per occupant. As we previously announced, we’re sponsoring the Exposition being held today, hosted by NASA at Moffett Field in Mountain View, where the competing aircraft are on display.
At the CAFE Flight Test Center at Santa Rosa airport, several teams participated in a series of flight tests to determine miles per gallon equivalent (MPGe), speed, noise, and take off ability. The teams -- e-Genius, ERAU, Pipstrel-USA and Phoenix -- were all vying for the $1.3 million prize purse from NASA. Check out scenes from day 2 of the challenge:
The awards ceremony just finished and we’re excited to announce the winners. The all-electric Taurus G4 Pipestrel aircraft took home first place, achieving an amazing 403.5 MPGe. The e-Genius team came in second place at 375.8 MPGe, but came out on top for the noise test, winning the Lindberg prize for the quietest aircraft.
All of the planes were five to ten times more efficient than standard aircraft. We’ve come a long way from Kitty Hawk! And we’re excited to be part of this next frontier in aviation.
Posted by Alec Proudfoot, Project Manager and Aviation Enthusiast, Google
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
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