Eco Factor: A lightweight carbon-fiber composite aircraft that uses solar panels to give you a clean and noise-free trip to the clouds.
The Deus Ex Machina is a twin-boom, lightweight aircraft that aims at giving the adventurers that take to the sky a ride that is clean, green and without the deafening noise of lightweight planes powered by conventional engines. Its cockpit is the size of a standard sailplane. It’s designed to be upgraded to a two-seater. Power comes from an electric motor that is supplied juice by the solar panels on its wide wings. The solar panels will provide 80% of the energy while the remaining is gained by conventional power.
The Deus Ex Machina can reach a top speed of 120 mph and could stay in the sky for good 8 hours at a speed of 60 mph. The Deus will not last too long at its top speed in the sky, but it is designed as a recreational vehicle, so that is not much of a drawback. The aerodynamic design further increases efficiency while the clean energy not only means zero-emissions, but also makes sure that the pilots will not have to deal with horrible engine noise and vibrations. Peter Shearer calls it the Prius of the skies and we believe him.
The Dark Side:
Being a recreational vehicle and lightweight aircraft for two, the technology is not very effective on a commercial basis. Hopefully, designers will find ways to take this technology to a commercial scale that benefits both the aviation industry and the planet. Also, one would like to see the Prius of the skies go all solar very soon!
[Thanks: Peter Shearer]
Comments
Sameer, I had read about another solar powered small plane some time back and since then have been fascinated by the idea of large solar powered Jumbos... With perhaps no or very little fuel needed, they will make flying extremely economical and pollution free. Glad to see these small steps that will lead to a giant solar jumbo in future.
Yeah, hopefully the technology will extend to the commercial sector soon enough as they already seem to be bleeding really badly with bot off-season lean period and also the constantly raising oil prices.