Thu, Aug 31, 2006
But Don't Expected Fuel-Cell Powered 747s Just Yet...
The largest unmanned aircraft yet flying only on hydrogen fuel
has passed it first test.
MSNBC reports the plane flew for up to a minute at a time and as
high as 12 feet during recent tests conducted by Georgia Tech. The
plane, with a 22-foot-wingspan, is powered by a fuel-cell system
that generates 500 watts -- equal to five bright light bulbs.
"That raises a lot of eyebrows," said Adam Broughton, a research
engineer at the Georgia Institute of Technology's Aerospace Systems
Design Laboratory, to MSNBC. "Five hundred watts is plenty of power
for a light bulb, but not for the propulsion system of an aircraft
this size."
So, how did it manage to take off? Broughton credits the design
and geometry of the aircraft, and the controlling subsystem
technology used for making the feat possible.
Broughton and his colleagues were
thinking outside the box and found creative ways to get rid of
extra weight on the aircraft, as well as reduce drag. In just one
example, the team borrowed a hydrogen tank from... a paintball
gun.
Not only is the fact this plane actually flew flew exciting
news, environmentalists will love it because it did so without
harming the environment.
Fuel cells create electrical current by converting hydrogen and
oxygen into water -- making the technology pollution-free.
Despite the encouraging news... current fuel cells don't produce
enough power to power larger aircraft. So, you can't expect to fly
in a 747 powered by these fuel cells just yet... but researchers
believe this is a viable power solution and the fuel cells could
provide an alternative for smaller and slower vehicles such as the
unmanned aerial vehicles.
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