e-Genius

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e-Genius
e-Genius in flight
Type: Electric airplane , hybrid electric airplane
Design country:

GermanyGermany Germany

Manufacturer:

Institute for Aircraft Construction, University of Stuttgart

First flight:

May 25, 2011

Number of pieces:

1

The e-Genius is a person-carrying aircraft that was developed by the Institute for Aircraft Construction at the University of Stuttgart . Originally it was equipped with a purely battery-electric drive train. The development of an external range extender turned the e-Genius into an optional hybrid electric aircraft . Currently (as of January 2019) the aircraft is being converted to a permanent hybrid drive by installing a fixed internal diesel generator.

In the configuration with a battery-powered drive train, the e-Genius is the electric aircraft with the greatest range that is operated continuously. The aircraft is used for researching and testing electric and hybrid-electric flying and is stationed at Pattonville Airport near Stuttgart.

history

The e-Genius was developed and built at the Institute for Aircraft Construction at the University of Stuttgart (IFB) under the direction of Rudolf Voit-Nitschmann. The aircraft is based on the Hydrogenius , a theoretical draft of a fuel cell aircraft that won the 2006 Berblinger Prize from the city of Ulm. With the e-Genius, after the Icaré II, the second practical aircraft with an alternative drive concept was developed at the IFB .

The majority of the aircraft was built in just eight months between October 2010 and May 2011 in the institute's workshop. The maiden flight took place on May 25, 2011 at the factory airfield of Grob Aircraft in Mindelheim-Mattsies . Just three weeks after the first flight, the e-Genius was able to demonstrate its efficiency by flying the Green Flight Challenge , in which the aircraft participated in the autumn of the same year , as part of the flight test .

e-Genius at the Green Flight Challenge

In the Green Flight Challenge the Comparative Aircraft Flight Efficiency (CAFE) was looking for an aircraft that can h flying of at least 320 km with a cruising speed of at least 160 km / one track while less than 1,176 liters of gasoline equivalent per 100 kilometers (one gallon to 200 miles ) and passenger. In this competition, the e-Genius won the Lindbergh Prize for the quietest aircraft and achieved second place in the overall ranking of the Green Flight Challenge .

On August 14, 2013, the e-Genius flew 400 km in four laps of 100 km each at an average speed of 140–175 km / h as part of a test flight.

In September 2013 the e-Genius took part in the Green Speed ​​Cup . He covered the 560 km from Pattonville to Strausberg in just under four hours of flight time. A stopover took place in Dessau . The Stuttgart aircraft won the competition with one competition flight each over 282 km and 405 km, whereby its own number of points was more than four times the number of points of the runner-up.

In July 2015, the e-Genius became the first electric aircraft to cross the Alps. To get to the Calcinate del Pesce near Varese in northern Italy from Hahnweide Airport near Stuttgart , a distance of more than 320 km was covered. The e-Genius flew over the over 3000 m high peaks in Central Switzerland at a safe height of almost 4000 m. The return flight took place in the afternoon of the same day. However, the steep ascent of the Alps in southern Switzerland could not be mastered on the route of the outward flight. In order to gain enough time for the climb to an altitude of 4000 m, the return flight route therefore ran over the Gotthard Pass and, at 365 km, was again significantly longer than the flight in the morning.

e-Genius over the Alps

construction

The e-Genius is a two-seater touring motor glider in CFRP - fiber composite construction with retractable landing gear. The cockpit canopy and the wing come from the Pipistrel Taurus , with the wider wing of the e-Genius being used in a shoulder- wing arrangement. The pilots sit next to each other in a cockpit that is about 4 cm longer and wider than the Taurus, the horizontal stabilizer was created in the negative form of the Stuttgart fs 35 . It is driven by a water-cooled permanent magnet synchronous motor , which drives an electrically adjustable propeller with a diameter of 2.2 m. The 27 kg heavy engine from the Slovenian manufacturer Sineton is currently operated with a continuous output of 40 kW and a starting output of 72 kW. The drive unit is attached to the upper end of the vertical tail fin of the conventional cross tail. The lithium-ion batteries are installed near the aircraft's center of gravity behind the pilot's seats. When cruising, the e-Genius is usually operated with outputs between 10 and 20 kW.

In 2015, the e-Genius was equipped with an external “plug and fly” range extender to test and research hybrid-electric flying . This was located in an add-on container that could be mounted on the underside of the right wing in a short time. The range extender consisted of a rotary engine with a generator, cooling system, exhaust system and fuel tanks. To compensate for the additional mass, the battery capacity was reduced by a quarter. This also reduced the battery-electric range to 300 km. The total range with this range extender should be 1000 km.

e-Genius with external range extender

In 2016, preparations were made to convert to a diesel / Jet-A generator system. A three-cylinder diesel engine of the type OM660 is used, which is housed in the central fuselage. New battery packs are designed in such a way that the capacity for the battery-electric take-off and climb to FL  100 and 30 minutes of flight reserve is sufficient. During cross-country flights, the drive is supplied with power from the generator system and the batteries are also recharged if necessary. A consumption of less than 3 l / 100 km (at 160 km / h cruising speed) is aimed for. The external add-on range extender is then no longer used.

The main feature of the two hybrid designs is the battery-electric operation of the aircraft close to the ground, i.e. This means that take-off and climb are possible without hybrid support and only with battery power. This ensures that the very low sound emissions of the e-Genius remain unrestricted in the wide area around airfields.

Records

The e-Genius currently (as of October 2018) holds the following official FAI world records in the category of electric powered aircraft with MTOM between 500 kg and 1000 kg :

Type of record value date
Maximum altitude 6375 m 19th July 2014
Maximum altitude in level flight 6350 m 19th July 2014
Speed ​​over 15 km 239.29 km 1st November 2017
Speed ​​over 100 km 221.86 km 1st November 2017
Speed ​​over 500 km 93.03 km / h July 18, 2014
Distance over a closed route 502.7 km July 18, 2014

All of these records were flown by Klaus Ohlmann .

Technical specifications

Parameter Electric plane With external range extender With internal range extender
crew 1 + 1
length 8.10 m
span 16.86 m
Height (without propeller) 2 m
Wing area 14.3 m²
Wing extension 21st
Glide ratio 34 at 140 km / h approx. 29 34
Slightest sinking 1.15 m / s at 120 km / h not measured 1.15 m / s at 120 km / h
payload up to 200 kg up to 200 kg
Empty mass 735 kg 740 kg 1 /675 kg 2
Max. Takeoff mass 915 kg 950 kg 1 /875 kg 2 900/950 kg
Battery ground 280 kg 210 kg 145 kg
Cruising speed 140-200 km / h 140-180 km / h 140-200 km / h
Top speed 270 km / h 180 km / h 270 km / h
Climb performance 4.5 m / s at MTOW 4.0 m / s at MTOW 4.5 m / s at MTOW
Range > 400 km 1000 km > 1000 km
drive Electric motor with 72 kW maximum power, two-blade propeller
Range extender Rotary petrol engine Diesel engine OM660
1 Mounted range extender
2 Extension range extender not installed

Web links

Commons : e-Genius  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Construction diary. Chronological sequence. Technical office Harms, accessed on July 9, 2015 : “[…] October 2010, completion of the hull shape. The construction of the central wing will begin. "
  2. ↑ Successful maiden flight of e-Genius. Flight test program for electric aircraft started. In: press releases. University of Stuttgart, May 30, 2011, accessed on August 17, 2013 : "[...] took off on Wednesday, May 25, 2011 at 5:58 pm at the works airport of GROB AIRCRAFT AG in Mindelheim."
  3. ↑ 341 km with the e-Genius. Flight report. Kasaero, accessed on July 9, 2015 : "Today we were able to top the successful flight on Sunday ..."
  4. ↑ Klaus Zintz: Motor gliders roam through the air. In: Stuttgarter Zeitung. October 28, 2011, accessed July 23, 2017 .
  5. ↑ 2011 CAFE Green Flight Challenge Rules. (No longer available online.) In: Green Flight Challenger. Team Feuling, archived from the original on September 10, 2013 ; accessed on April 24, 2014 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.greenflightchallenger.com
  6. ^ The 2011 Green Flight Challenge. Sponsored By Google. CAFE Foundation, accessed July 9, 2015 : "NASA prizes of $ 120,000 for Eric Raymond, leader of the 2nd Place Team e-Genius"
  7. ↑ Wednesday, August 14, 2013: e-Genius flies world record. Interest group of German academic aviation groups , August 15, 2013, accessed on January 31, 2017 : “The e-Genius flew 400 km with the energy of the batteries alone. As far as we know, this is a world record. "
  8. ↑ Danny Grid: The future is landing. In: mz-web.de. September 5, 2013, accessed September 20, 2013 .
  9. ↑ Overall ranking GREEN SPEED CUP 2013. (PDF; 46 kB) In: Green Speed ​​Cup. Stemme Aviators eV, September 9, 2013, accessed on January 31, 2017 (overall ranking after two competition days).
  10. ^ Andrea Mayer-Grenu: First Alpine crossing of a battery aircraft. idw-online, July 8, 2015, accessed on July 9, 2015 : "Practical suitability of electric aircraft with battery storage demonstrated"
  11. ^ Frank-Dieter Lemke: e-Genius - electric into the future . In: Fliegerrevue . No. 6 , 2013, p. 21-23 .
  12. ↑ Record no. 17257 website of the FAI. Retrieved November 16, 2017.
  13. ↑ Record No. 17258 FAI website. Retrieved November 16, 2017.
  14. ↑ Record # 18312 FAI website. Retrieved October 31, 2018.
  15. ↑ Record # 18310 FAI website. Retrieved October 31, 2018.
  16. ↑ Record no. 17261 website of the FAI. Retrieved November 16, 2017.
  17. ↑ Record no. 17262 website of the FAI. Retrieved November 16, 2017.