Sat, Jul 30, 2011
Aviation's Largest Ever Prize To Be Awarded At Moffett Field
October 3rd
The CAFE Foundation announced today that Google will sponsor the
NASA Centennial Challenge flight competition known as the Green
Flight Challenge (GFC). CAFE (Comparative Aircraft Flight
Efficiency) will conduct the event from September 25 through
October 2, 2011 at Charles M. Schulz Sonoma County Airport. The
NASA-funded prize purse of $1.65M makes this the largest ever prize
for aviation. Competing aircraft must demonstrate at least 100 mph
and 200 passenger MPG on a 200 mile flight.
The aircraft in the Green Flight Challenge sponsored by Google
represent a diverse mix of singular prototypes created expressly
for the competition by some of the world’s top designers.
Most will be propelled by batteries and electric motors, some by
bio-fuel or hybrid. All competing aircraft will be shown to the
public at the Google Green Flight Challenge Exposition hosted by
NASA at Moffett Field--NASA Ames Research Center, from 9 AM to 4 PM
on October 3, 2011. Advance online ticketing for this exposition
will soon be available online. In
addition to the main prizes for highest scores, the competition
includes a bio-fuel prize and plans for a special Lindbergh Prize
for Quietest Aircraft, to be presented by Erik Lindbergh, grandson
of the renowned winner of aviation’s Orteig Prize, Charles
Lindbergh.
The electric aircraft in the competition will demonstrate for
the first time that practical, emission-free crosscountry flight is
possible. Their batteries will be recharged using clean geo-thermal
based electricity from The Geysers geo-thermal fields in the
Mayacama Mountains North of Santa Rosa. This recharging will occur
at the CAFE Flight Test Center’s first-ever Electric Aircraft
Charging Station sponsored by Google.
In addition to the sleek aircraft of the GFC, the Google Green
Flight Challenge Exposition will include exhibits of many
technologies related to the future of green aviation. These will
range from vertical takeoff personal aircraft, autonomous vehicles,
fast prototyping equipment, advanced motors, propellers and
more.
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