Electric racing plane unveiled by Airbus during Dubai Airshow 2019

Team Condor Aviation's e-racer model is a retrofit of the 'White Lightning' winning aircraft of Formula 1 racing in the 1980s and 1990s. The 2019 Dubai Air Show marks the e-racer's first public appearance in anticipation of competition inaugural of the Air Race E racing series.

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The year was 1979. In a builder's shop in the Midlands, UK, a standard slab-wing Cassutt aircraft was being transformed from nose to tail. The goal? To build an air racing machine that could compete in Formula 1 air racing. In 1980, the rebuild was completed and the new aircraft, dubbed the “White Lightning”, was launched onto the air racing circuit by owner-pilot Andrew Chadwick.

Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, White Lightning competed in both handicap and Formula 1 racing – several races a year, in fact. Chadwick introduced air racing to continental Europe, traveling with White Lightning to places like Epernay, and Freiburg, . In Compiègne, , White Lightning reached new heights of celebrity when a pigeon flew overhead from top to bottom!

Photo: Airbus

At the end of two exciting decades in air racing, the White Lightning had twice been champion of champion – in Meaux, and Rochester, UK – and then retired. But that didn't last: a new life was silently hovering on the horizon.

Today, hopes are high that the pilot formerly known as White Lightning will repeat its winning story, but in a completely different format.

Martyn Wiseman, leader of Team Condor Aviation, took ownership of the White Lightning – an older model from Cassutt, but still very popular in traditional Formula 1 air racing. fabric-covered wooden handles. The fuel tank was positioned behind the engine – as in many planes.  

As part of the refinement of the Air Race E, Team Condor Aviation completely gutted the piston engine and swapped the Contra-Electric twin-engine and contra-rotating propeller drive train, which provides continuous electrical power. The fuel tank has been replaced with a ~20kWh battery. 

Photo: Airbus

For Martyn and his team, the big engineering challenge with retrofitting is finding the right balance between weight and energy distribution. Specifically, the electric motor has the potential for a relatively high power-to-weight ratio compared to the original piston engine. 

“The first step is to adapt the aircraft with commercially available components to try to replicate the original performance”, explains Martyn. "As a second step, we will design a custom propulsion system to ensure the plane is race-ready."

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Photo: Airbus

Technical specifications

Power: 150 kW (max. Continuous)

Battery: ~20 kWh

Aircraft type: Cassutt Racer (modified)

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Engine type: All-electric

Wing: 4.6 meters

Tail span: 4 meters

Weight: 375 kg

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Like Team Condor Aviation, other teams entered in Air Race E are currently developing their own aircraft using existing structures – or from scratch.

This approach is fully in line with the culture of air racing, where teams are heavily involved in the design and construction of aircraft. In fact, current teams – ranging from professional engineers and students of aerospace engineering to amateurs – will be free to create and make their own designs, as long as they conform to the specifications set by Air Race E. These specifications refer to a variety of features – including wing area, maximum power and battery capacity, among others.

Ultimately, each team's final product will result in an all-electric, fixed-wing, front-engine aircraft. As the Air Race E has the same runway layout and eight-lap configuration as traditional air races, the aircraft will need to be similar in size and comparable in performance to classic racing planes.

“The design freedom allowed on Air Race E should give rise to some interesting concepts for electric planes”, says Jeff Zaltman, CEO of Air Race E. “And the galvanizing effect of a sporting competition should help drive the technological development of electric flights. in the right direction. “

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Source: Airbus

Categories: Military, News, News

Tags: Airbus, Dubai Airshow

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