{"id":10790,"date":"2016-03-25T20:53:15","date_gmt":"2016-03-26T03:53:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cafe.foundation\/blog\/?p=10790"},"modified":"2016-03-25T20:53:15","modified_gmt":"2016-03-26T03:53:15","slug":"energyors-series-of-personal-bests-in-endurance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/cafe.foundation\/blog\/energyors-series-of-personal-bests-in-endurance\/","title":{"rendered":"EnergyOr’s Series of Personal Bests in Endurance"},"content":{"rendered":"

Staying airborne for more than an hour or two might seem like a huge leap for battery-powered electric aircraft.\u00a0 Inspired designers like Eric Raymond have been able to use solar cells to extend their flights to near-perpetual states.\u00a0 A large craft like Solar Impulse 2 remains in flight for up to five successive days and nights only through careful energy management and flight planning.\u00a0 Researchers are looking at hydrogen fuel cells as an alternative to batteries, with the hopes of achieving greater endurance.<\/p>\n

One company, EnergyOr,<\/a> has developed two still small fuel cells to power their rotary- and fixed-wing drones, setting several records in the process.\u00a0 With payloads and maximum takeoff weights that enable carrying a 4K camera or large hydrogen tanks for long range flights, EnergyOr\u2019s aircraft have demonstrated their abilities.<\/p>\n

The small experimental fuel cell described in our last entry<\/a> is good news for small-scale drones \u2013 until the researchers scale things up to suit larger applications.\u00a0 Their one-hour endurance is mainly a matter of volume, with compact dimensions not allowing a large fuel load, for instance.<\/p>\n

A 2011, ten-hour flight with their Birdseye-derived flying wing, the H2 Endurance Demonstrator, powered by EnergyOr\u2019s EO-310-XLE integrated fuel cell, proved the aircraft\u2019s autonomous flight ability.\u00a0 Although this is nowhere near the (slightly) over 48-hour flight of the Navy\u2019s Ion Tiger, it demonstrates the same characteristics of the larger airplane, with comparable energy efficiency.<\/p>\n