By James Wyndbrandt

Chip Yates, a brand new pilot who last week set the world speed record of 202.6 mph for electric aircraft using a powerplant he designed, will reveal today in an 11:15 a.m. presentation at Innovation Hangar North what happened when he was forced to make a dead-stick landing at the conclusion of that record-setting flight.

Yet even more dramatic than the account of that emergency is Yates’ own story, that of a Boeing Company executive who left his job, took up motorcycle racing, developed the world’s fastest electric-powered motorcycle, and improbably two months ago set out to earn his pilot certificate and create the electric-powered Rutan Long-EZ, in which he set the world’s electric aircraft speed record on July 19.

Yates left his job as a Boeing patent executive in 2003 to start a government contracting business, and took up amateur motorcycle racing, entering his first race in 2007 at age 36. In 2009 he turned pro, racing in the AMA Pro Racing series and competing in the Superbike World Championships, before a crash broke his pelvis and forced him from competition.

While recuperating he decided to design and build an electric motorcycle for the TTXGP non-carbon fuel motorcycle racing competition. But the 250-hp machine he built so far outclassed the rest of the entrants that race organizers banned his machine. Undeterred, he entered the battery-powered cycle in a pair of conventional motorcycle competitions, earning a spot on the podium in each. He subsequently set eight world records for electric cycles on the Bonneville Salt Flats, including the world’s electric motorcycle speed record of more than 200 mph, as well as winning the famed Pike’s Peak International Hill Climb.

With no more cycle world challenges to conquer, earlier this year Yates decided to bring the battery technology and controlling software he and his team developed to aviation under the banner of the Flight of the Century company.

“I was not a pilot, I had never logged one hour,” Yates said. He bought a Long-EZ this past May, and over the next two months converted it to electric power, using the batteries from his motorcycle, while he worked on his pilot certificate, getting assistance from flight instructor Tim Reynolds and fabricator Chris Parker.

The aircraft has a liquid-cooled 258-hp electric motor producing 400 foot-pounds of torque, driving a custom Catto three-bladed carbon propeller, and equipped with thrust reverse, propeller kinetic energy recovery system (KERS) regeneration, and a 453-volt DC lithium-ion polymer battery pack capable of 600-amp continuous discharge rates.

“I finished my pilot’s license 12 days ago,” Yates said yesterday. “I had 58 hours.”

Yates chose Inyokern Airport, an old World War II facility adjacent to naval air weapons station China Lake, as his headquarters. On July 18 Yates flew the battery-powered Long-EZ for the first time-his first flight in a canard aircraft. The following day, with assistance from radar tracking at the naval air weapons station, he set the world record. In-cockpit and chase plane video captured the entire flight, most of which has been posted online. Yates knew the batteries had taken a good deal of abuse from their time in his motorcycle, and one of the batteries failed near the conclusion of the flight, forcing him to make a dead-stick landing.

The audio and video of those final moments have not been seen by the public. In his presentation today Yates will show the dramatic conclusion of the flight for the first time.

Yates will also talk about his next electric aircraft project, supported by the Lindbergh Foundation, in which he will build an electric battery-powered aircraft with a 100-foot wingspan, and in 2014 he plans to retrace Lindbergh’s route across the Atlantic at the same altitude and with at least the same speed. The electric aircraft will be “refueled” in flight five times by UAVs with trailing tethers that will recharge the aircraft’s batteries.

“We have the flight mapped out, we’re working with the U.S. Navy,” Yates said. “They want to launch one UAV from a submarine, one from a surface ship, and three from land, in Newfoundland, Iceland, and Ireland.”

How has Yates managed to get so far so fast in a field that has stymied so many electric power experts?

“It’s the software we developed that makes it work,” he said. For example, both the motorcycle and airplane engines can take otherwise wasted energy and put it back in the battery. If drag is put on the propeller during descent, for example, it recharges the battery cells.

“The battery [development] guys are doing a great job, but there’s no chance for [batteries to have] the energy density of gasoline,” Yates said. “Given that, you have two choices: You wait for the battery guys to build better batteries, or you say, ‘I accept your batteries and implement a mechanical solution to a chemical problem.’ My whole purpose is to build an electric airplane that can fly indefinitely, recharging in the air.”

Given that he’s a newly minted pilot, albeit a world record-setting one, it’s not surprising this is Yates’ first visit to Oshkosh.

“I’ve never seen anything like it in my life,” he said. “I’ve never been to a large gathering of people. I’m struck by the kindness of people, struck by the American patriotism I see here. I’m also impressed by the Australians and the Brits who traveled so many miles to be part of this. It’s humbling when someone comes from Australia and says, ‘We came to see you.’ We’ve been welcomed into aviation with open arms, not a negative word, and that’s very different from the motorcycle industry.

“So I’m going to give 100 percent into representing the aviation industry, Oshkosh, and EAA, and the Lindbergh Foundation to the best of my ability.”

“I’m 100 percent in aviation. I don’t ride motorcycles anymore,” he said. “Aviation to me is a great untapped market. My job is to make electric airplanes that affect people’s lives for the better. To accomplish that I’ll be in this industry for a few years.”

Yates’ record setting Long-EZ and electric motorcycle are both on display at Innovation Hangar South.

Dear Friends and Stakeholders!

Tomorrow we pack up and tow home from 2012 EAA AirVenture OshKosh after an incredible week where we learned a ton and left our mark on the event by shaking things up and getting folks thinking outside the box about the future of electric aviation.  Our team of Tim Reynolds, Mike Beadle and I were humbled by the incredible response from the attendees, the hospitality from the EAA, and the wonderful support of the media.

I was honored to be an invited speaker for the Charles Lindbergh Foundation with a full speech on Thursday, and a short speech on Friday morning.  Then Friday afternoon, I delivered a 60 minute technical breakdown of the world record flight and deadstick landing to a standing room crowd in the Innovation hangar on behalf of AeroInnovate.

Friday afternoon, it was the honor of a lifetime to be featured in an hour long video shoot interview for the EAA’s “Timeless Voices of Aviation” video archive of the history and the future of aviation.

Also on Friday, we received a letter of intent from the U.S. Navy Air Weapons Station China Lake to finalize a contract for joint R&D in the UAV recharging of our electric aircraft platform – more news on this front to follow.

Saturday I had a great time with Bob Collins live on EAA Radio where we did a punchy interview about our rapid entrance into aviation and my thoughts on the future.

Associated with the show, we revealed the full length video of the 202.6 MPH record run with the deadstick landing, which is enjoying 30,000 hits in the first day of release! Link: http://youtu.be/rNAPLxZtoPg

I was honored to meet and chat with aviation legend Dick Rutan, and later with Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker during the AirVenture show week (photo of Gov. Walker attached).

Our next objective will be to build a fresh battery pack for the electric Long-ESA and install our front mounted recharging probe and demonstrate a mid-air recharge to further our Electric Lindbergh and military electric UAV program. I’m going to pay a visit to Mojave and get Dick to teach me how he refueled mid-air in his fighter jet in Vietnam!  Stay tuned.

We are fortunate to report the following exemplary mainstream media coverage from the past week:

Popular Science Magazine

http://www.popsci.com/technology/article/2012-07/video-electric-plane-sets-new-record-nail-biting-flight?page=

Popular Science Australia

http://www.popsci.com.au/technology/aviation/video-in-nail-biting-flight-holder-of-electric-bike-speed-record-sets-electric-plane-speed-record

Discovery Channel

http://dsc.discovery.com/gear-gadgets/worlds-fastest-electric-plane-breaks-200mph-barrier-video.html

Engadget

http://www.engadget.com/2012/07/17/electric-plane-taxi-test-long-esa/

http://www.engadget.com/2012/07/22/chip-yates-breaks-yet-another-record-notches-202mph-in-worlds/

http://www.engadget.com/2012/07/27/chip-yates-electric-plane-record-deadstick-landing/

Wired Magazine

http://www.wired.com/autopia/2012/07/exclusive-video-yates/

http://www.wired.com/autopia/2012/07/chip-yates-200-mph/

GizMag

http://www.gizmag.com/fotc-chip-yates-long-esa-speed-record/23417/

Yahoo

http://voices.yahoo.com/test-craft-breaks-speed-record-electric-airplane-11597268.html

Gas2.0

http://gas2.org/2012/07/23/video-chip-yates-sets-electric-airllane-speed-record/

Degree Antiperspirant (The Adrenalist)

http://www.theadrenalist.com/speed/chip-yates-record-breaking-electric-airplane/

TechVehi

http://www.technologicvehicles.com/en/green-transportation-news/1932/video-326kph-in-an-electric-plane-new-speed-r

EAA AirVenture OshKosh

http://www.airventure.org/news/2012/120725_new-pilot-brings-worlds-fastest-electric-aircraft-to-OSH.html

Aviation Week

http://www.aviationweek.com/Blogs.aspx?plckPostId=Blog:27ec4a53-dcc8-42d0-bd3a-01329aef79a7Post:440cb322-d3e3-4c53-bfe0-a70a078e96a5

Avionics Intelligence

http://www.avionics-intelligence.com/news/2012/07/28/plugging-into-a-new-era-of-f-light-electric-flight-innovations-prototypes-experimental-aircraft-feat.html

AOPA Live Interview with me at our display (my segment 5:15 – 7:15)

http://www.aopa.org/aopalive/?watch=VoZnVoNTq-h6LnRr-z464xCQk9y-A9QQ#ooid=VoZnVoNTq-h6LnRr-z464xCQk9y-A9QQ

Thanks very much for supporting us and stay tuned for some very exciting news as we work on the future of long-range, heavy payload electric flight!

Your friend in technology,

Chip

Chip Yates to speak about the future of electric aircraft technology at EAA Oshkosh in several key forums and symposiums. The Flight of the Century (FOTC) team will also be exhibiting the all-electric Long-ESA (“Electric Speed & Altitude) and will have handouts, autograph cards and video and data collected from the electric airplane. The team will also exhibit Chip Yates’ electric superbike next to the Long-ESA, that collected 8 FIM world records, the Guinness Book of World Records title of “The World’s Fastest Electric Motorcycle” and was featured on the cover of Popular Science Magazine.

EAA has issued a release below. (Please note correction: The Electric Long-ESA is an R&D aircraft for the Lindbergh electric transatlantic flight, but is not the actual plane for that mission, schedule to be flown by Chip Yates in 2014 in a custom 100’ wingspan carbon fiber aircraft.)

CLICK HERE FOR EAA LINK

In other exciting news, the Flight of the Century team is relocating from Orange County, California to Inyokern Airport on Saturday July 7th for flight testing with the cooperation of the Inyokern Airport authorities and the China Lake Naval Air Warfare Center located adjacent to Inyokern Airport. Flight testing to occur at Inyokern Airport from July 8th through July 20th, after which, the Long-ESA will be packed and moved to Oshkosh for display to the public.

Expect additional press releases from FOTC after the move to Inyokern with high res photos images of the electric Long-ESA!

[dt_gallery ppp=”6″ orderby=”date” order=”DESC” only=”16″/]

The pristine 7,100 foot runway 15/33 at Inyokern Airport will soon echo with the sound of the future, as our high performance, all-electric Long-ESA executes taxi-testing, first flight, and world record attempts at this wonderful facility.

The Flight of the Century team carefully considered three Southern California airports known to be friendly to advanced R&D flight test programs before choosing the Inyokern Airport and neighboring China Lake Naval Air Weapons Station as our home for Long-ESA operations.

We will shortly be moving operations to occupy Inyokern Hangar #3, where we have unfettered access to Inyokern’s three incredible runways with lengths of 7,100 feet, 6,275 feet, and 4,150 feet.  By comparison, the runway 19L at Orange County’s busy John Wayne Airport where we have been flying to date is only 2,887 feet long!

This area is absolutely perfect for aircraft development programs, with nearby Ridgecrest supplying an educated population of engineers and scientists, and next door China Lake featuring the tracking range and equipment that validated the SpaceShipOne’s altitude of >300,000 feet and tracked the Space Shuttle landings at Edwards Air Force Base to the south.  There are extremely long runways at both Inyokern and China Lake, ample flatlands and desert surrounding both facilities, but close enough to the south end of Sequoia National Forest to provide a unique mix of climates, terrain and weather for our programs.

FOTC parent company, W.Morrison Consulting Group, Inc. is a U.S. Government Contractor and has a history of contract wins with the China Lake Naval Air Weapons Station, just 7 miles away from Inyokern Airport.  Discussions with China Lake (Armitage Field) about our electric flight test program, world record attempts for speed and altitude, and ultimately our Lindbergh transatlantic aircraft and UAV development suggest that they will be active participants along with Inyokern Airport in our electric aircraft development programs.

Stay tuned for more news and imagery as we push forward on this exciting electric aircraft and UAV program.

Inyokern Airport Website: http://www.inyokernairport.com/

China Lake Naval Air Weapons Station: http://www.cnic.navy.mil/ChinaLake/index.htm

1. When in summer is the first flight of the Long-EZ?
   Our Long-EZ (we renamed it Long-ESA for “Electric Speed & Altitude” referring to the world record attempts we will make on (i) fastest manned electric airplane, and (ii) highest altitude manned electric airplane) is scheduled for taxi and static thrust tests the first week of July, with first flight later in July, 2012 depending on the results of the initial taxi and ground performance tests. We expect first flight in July to be from Mojave Air and Space Port (http://mojaveairport.com/) California, which has a 12,500 foot runway and is also the home of Burt Rutan’s former company, Scaled Composites.  This all-electric plane will also serve as our flying testbed for our UAV battery pack tethering and docking technology as well as our Jettison & Balance System (“JBS”) battery pack shuttling technology and software development, which is where we have a number of battery packs in a pod below the plane, and as each is depleted, it is jettisoned from the pod and lands at a ground-based collection station via GPS guided parachute – this technique basically doubles the range of an electric airplane through continuous weight reduction as packs are depleted and dropped.  The Long-ESA will help us rapidly develop these critical pieces to long-range flight.
2. What made you decide to embark on this project?
   From 2010-2011 my team of aerospace engineers developed, built and raced the world’s fastest electric motorcycle that reached speeds over 200mph. We did everything we could with it, inventing a new Kinetic Energy Recovery System (“KERS”), refining our EV powertrain control software, filing patents, racing against gas powered superbikes and beating them, setting world records at the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb and the Bonneville Salt Flats, so we recently retired it and donated it to the Petersen Automotive Museum, Los Angeles.  From there, the next logical question was how can we best deploy the knowledge and technology we developed on that EV program to something bigger and better.  After retiring the superbike in September, 2011, I spent several months boating around Southern California and during that brainstorming period, I had the idea to attempt the historic Charles Lindbergh transatlantic flight in an all-electric airplane that we would create (See our 5/22/12 Press Release).  Based on the constraints I want to impose on the flight, we quickly determined it would be technically impossible without a big and disruptive innovation.  I see this kind of impossible/nearly impossible challenge as a way to push technology forward and usher in a new era of environmentally responsible flight, plus it keeps me motivated, young at heart, and always learning!  The Long-ESA is our first plane and is a flying testbed for our tethering and docking technology as well as a platform for attempting the world records, but otherwise plays a supporting role to our big plans for the all-electric Lindbergh flight.  That program uses a >100’ wingspan all carbon custom airframe that we are designing in–house and under consultation with some very well respected aviation industry pioneers who are generously lending a hand.
3. What stage are you at currently with the project?
   Our electric Lindbergh plane is in development as is our routing and battery management software, which is almost as important as the airframe.  We are developing our own routing optimization software, based on NASA’s OTIS Trajectory Optimization Software (http://otis.grc.nasa.gov/index.html) that has been used from Apollo Space Flight missions all the way up to the present.  We have optimized a number of scenarios, each dependant on certain levels of battery performance.  For example, we have a scenario of how we can make a successful transatlantic crossing using batteries of 600 wh/kg, 430 wh/kg, 300 wh/kg and 140 wh/kg, the latter being readily available today in the power output range that we need.
4. I understand you will be flying the plane yourself – what experience do you have of piloting planes?
   I have always wanted to be a pilot, but have been waiting for a period in my life where I could fly every day and dedicate myself to becoming a proficient and responsible pilot.  I currently fly 6 days a week out of Orange County Airport (SNA) and I have experience flying in Long-EZs as well.  As I build up my flight hours, we also have the ability to tap into a group of very experienced test pilots who have contacted us to express interest in flying our electric Long-ESA, including aviation legends Dick Rutan and Mike Melville.
5. How is the development of the Burt Rutan designed Long-EZ progressing?
   Development of the Long-ESA is proceeding at a very rapid pace and the plane will fly under all electric power in July, 2012.
6. Why don’t you just land and change your batteries rather than employing an unmanned aerial vehicle?
   In order for electric airplanes to succeed, they need to overcome a lot of disadvantages relative to internal combustion aircraft, namely convenience, cost, range, speed, and efficiency.  We want the recharging process to be transparent to the people flying the planes enabled with our technology, whether it be military applications, cargo and mail delivery, or civilian transportation.  In order for electric technology to have any chance to displace internal combustion aircraft, we have to minimize the downsides and maximize the upsides of efficiency, quietness, and pollution advantages of electric power.  Since we are in essence limited to using propellers, our average speed is already slower than a jet, and compounding that disadvantage with numerous landings and take-offs, which are not efficient, only hinders the acceptance of electric planes by the industry.  Many new technologies fail because people do not like being inconvenienced – asking society to accept flight times twice as long as today’s, with multiple landings and take-offs, will not be a strategy for success!
7. Certification authorities are notoriously very picky. How can you convince certification authorities it is safe for an external aircraft to dock and tether with the LREA?
   Great question!  Our first order of business is developing and perfecting the docking and tethering technology and demonstrating it with our Long-ESA.  We are setting out in an entrepreneurial venture to smash through the barriers that are preventing long-range flight from becoming a near-term reality.  Eventually, we or our development partners will have to face the aviation authorities from around the world, but we are not starting out with bureaucratic hurdles foremost in our minds.  We will rejoice when we arrive at the bureaucracy stage however, because it means we have been successful in accomplishing a very difficult technology development process and now need to commercialize it.  In the near term, we have arrangements in place with certain airports here in California to allow us to conduct such R&D on their property.  We are even in discussions with several airport authorities about becoming a participant in the FAA UAS Test Site Program (http://www.faa.gov/news/press_releases/news_story.cfm?newsId=13393) so that we can provide our input into the future regulations that will govern the safe operation of UAVs in United States airspace.
8. Is there an example of any aircraft with that procedure in place?
   Of course mid-air refuelling is quite common by military operators around the world using hard tethers (extendable booms) and soft tethers (extendable fuel hose) from the fuel tanker aircraft.  My favourite is wingwalking refueller Wesley May, who on November 12, 1921, climbed from a Lincoln Standard to a Curtiss JN-4 airplane with a can of fuel strapped to his back to refuel an airplane – the first example that motivates us!  Some info on aerial refuelling: http://www.centennialofflight.gov/essay/Evolution_of_Technology/refueling/Tech22.htm
9. Regarding the transatlantic test, what route are you considering taking? How fast will the aircraft be going as it must have to be pretty fast to be always two hours from land?
   There is no requirement to always be two hours from land.  In our proposal to the U.S. Department of Energy, we proposed a 24-hour flight with UAV docking events every 90 minutes with a 15 minute changeover period, but for the Lindbergh flight, we will be using a completely new plane and UAV strategy.  The speed is set by our own constraint that we have to equal or exceed the average speed of Charles Lindbergh (108 mph average), in order to make the flight meaningful from a technology advancement standpoint (See the constraints in our 5/22/12 Press Release).  We have developed a number of scenarios to make a successful transatlantic flight along the Charles Lindbergh route, and we are continuing to refine our model and technology.  The strategy we use for the flight in 2014 will undoubtedly be different from what we are proposing and copying you on today, but this helps get people thinking outside the box and in a disruptive manner.  We have many other scenarios with more or fewer UAVs and some that depend on better battery energy densities being available, but the important fact is that we currently believe that the flight is currently possible using today’s lithium-ion batteries using our approach with UAVs, such as the 5 UAV scenario attached.
10. I can see from the Wired article that your long-term vision would involve recharging stations at sea?
    For the Lindbergh flight, we are not currently planning to launch or recover any of the 5 UAVs from the ocean, although that may change as we optimize our plan and improve our technology.  The Wired.com article shows our vision for the future of transatlantic electric flight routes where platforms are in place to enable long-range electric flights with legitimate payloads.
11. How are battery packs jettisoned and how are they recovered?
    There are three scenarios that we are building, so there are three answers:
    1. Long-ESA is being built with a battery pod attached underneath the fuselage that contains our patent-pending battery pack jettison and rebalance technology. This is a series of lithium-ion packs, each at 450 volts DC, that are individually used to power the aircraft and when depleted, each one is jettisoned out of the pod on a GPS-guided parachute to our recovery and recharge zone on the ground for reuse.
    2. For the Department of Energy ARPA-E proposal, we are building a small manned electric aircraft and two UAV battery pods as part of a contract to demonstrate a 24-hour, non-stop, all-electric flight. This is the scenario outlined in the DoE proposal I recently sent you. The two UAV battery packs are alternately docked to the continuously flying Long Range Electric Aircraft (LREA) – while one is docked, the other is recharged on the ground.
    3. For the Charles Lindbergh flight, we currently plan to use 5 UAV battery packs strategically launched from points shown in the above and attached diagram.  Our logistics team must deliver the UAV to each launch site, launch it at the appropriate time, and recover all of the depleted UAV battery packs for shipment back to the USA after our flight.
12. What is the weight of the battery when you make a changeover to the aircraft?
    There are three scenarios that we are building, so there are three answers:
    1. Long-ESA is being constructed in two configurations: 1) the battery pack payload is around 850 lbs total, and for our top speed and high altitude record attempts, we will be using one large parallel pack since the FAI does not allow jettisoning for official world record attempts. 2) for developing our jettison and rebalance technology, the packs we will be using in the Long-ESA will be less than the full voltage of 450 volts, so that we can use more packs to collect maximum data (because each 450 volt pack weighs about 230 lbs, so being limited to 850 lbs total battery weight only allows 3~4 packs to be on the plane) and we want to test scenarios using up to 10 packs, so we will build packs less than 450 volts for testing.  But when we use the full 450 volt packs, each pack we drop weighs 230 lbs.
    2. For the Department of Energy ARPA-E proposal, each UAV battery pack weighs approximately 2,000 lbs.
    3. For the Charles Lindbergh flight, the weight is different for each of the 5 UAV battery packs and is not finalized.
13. What is the payload this prototype aircraft is able to sustain (I’m assuming it is one person – ie, you – but just checking)?
    Of course for the first aircraft we are building to perfect our technology, we have one pilot and use all remaining payload for battery packs. This scenario will change as we develop aircraft suitable for different missions and payload.  It is always possible to carry more payload by making more frequent jettison and/or re-docking operations during flight.
14. The text of your press release says it will “enable an entirely new market of long-range, heavy payload, electric flight that would otherwise be impossible to achieve with incremental battery improvements alone.” – how could this technology work for planes able to take bigger payloads such as commercial airlines carrying, say, 100 people. Is it possible?
    We believe our approach is scalable, even up to the air transport category, but so far we have not assigned resources on our team to study this far ahead – we are focused on developing and perfecting the technology on a small scale first.
15. Taking the commercial idea further, wouldn’t jettisoning many batteries on a commercial aircraft carrying 100 people mean parachutes landing empty/used batteries is not feasible (if you think about how many flights take place on any given day around the world and the weight of the batteries, which could be several tonnes to transition and dock)? And is it even commercially viable from a cost standpoint to fly several tonnes of batteries every two hours to dozens of aircraft in a commercial world? Is it finally less expensive than using fuel?
    For this scale, we would not propose our parachute approach, for large scale operations, you must drop and re-dock the flying UAV battery packs during flight.  There is no reason a large flying UAV battery pack cannot fly up to and be tethered to a large aircraft carrying passengers, freight or military equipment and when the UAV is depleted, it drops away and glides to a landing at a predetermined recovery and recharge location.  On the topic of expense, none of this is less expensive than using fuel!  Fuel is still incredibly cheap for the amount of energy it is able to store.  In the short term, electric airplanes are feasible for specific missions but not as a direct replacement for all fossil fuel burning aircraft.  When quiet operations are required, or when the military demands a low heat signature for stealthy operation, or for areas with severe noise restrictions, or for training aircraft doing many landings and take-offs close to an airport, missions like this the electric plane makes sense.  One day if society runs low on fossil fuels or when fuel becomes significantly more expensive, only then can you make a direct cost comparison with electric aircraft.  This is why virtually all electric vehicles are being subsidized to some extent by someone.
16. Following on from the last question – does your long term vision for commercial flights powered by electric batteries also rely on the future development of batteries?
    The whole premise of our technology is that we are working to provide long-range electric flight now, in the near term, even if no improvements in batteries were forthcoming.  We don’t want to wait for batteries to enable long range flight, and we don’t think we have to.  In the area of lithium-ion polymer pouch cells suitable for electric vehicle applications, we honestly have not seen much is any improvement in wh/kg  in the past 3 years or so – from 2009 to today.  Of course improvements are coming, and when they do, you will still need our technology, only you can reduce the number of UAV docking operations for each particular mission.  We don’t see any scenario in the foreseeable future where battery technology achieves anything close to fossil fuel energy density parity that is available for purchase and suitable for electric vehicles performing the same missions as gasoline vehicles.  This is why we are confident that we are on the right path, and leading the push to build battery-agnostic long-range aircraft right now.
17. What does the Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) look like? There are various configurations – mostly a cylindrical pod containing batteries that also has wings! There are several in the image in the Wired article docked to our LREA.  The DoE UAVs will be based more on a modified glider airframe, so they will all look different depending on the program.
18. On your team there are “Byron Young, Robert Ussery, and John Kolaczynski, who all came from the A160 Hummingbird VTOL Unmanned UAV Helicopter program, which successfully transitioned from DARPA funding to a commercial product of The Boeing Company” – can you tell me a bit more about the UAV Helicopter program, how it worked and how it supports the Flight of the Century mission?  Also our Chief Engineer Ben Tigner came from the A160 program.  This was an unmanned helicopter developed by Frontier Systems and sold to the Boeing Company seen here: http://www.boeing.com/bds/phantom_works/hummingbird.html  Our engineers worked on this program as employees of either Frontier Systems or Boeing, or both.  Our company Flight of the Century had no role in the A160, but we have the engineers who were successful and are experienced from that exciting program.