{"id":11158,"date":"2016-10-13T22:33:33","date_gmt":"2016-10-14T05:33:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cafe.foundation\/blog\/?p=11158"},"modified":"2016-10-16T09:28:51","modified_gmt":"2016-10-16T16:28:51","slug":"11158-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/cafe.foundation\/blog\/11158-2\/","title":{"rendered":"A First Electric Helicopter with a Humanitarian Mission"},"content":{"rendered":"

Brammo, one of the first American electric motorcycle makers<\/a>, established itself as an early competitor in racing, and after less than a decade in the new arena, sold the motorcycle racing enterprise to Polaris Industries Inc.\u00a0 \u201cFollowing that announcement, Brammo confirms its exclusive agreement to supply its electric powertrains to Polaris for inclusion in motorcycles and other on-road and off-road vehicles.\u201drange of vehicle OEMs.\u201d<\/p>\n

From Motorcycles to Helicopters<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Surprisingly, that range of vehicle OEMs includes a successful electric helicopter launch.<\/p>\n

According to the Portland Business Journal<\/em><\/a>, \u201cBrammo lent its expertise to a Tier 1 Engineering launch of a battery-powered manned helicopter last month. The launch included the first hover taxi and a record five-minute cruise flight to 400 feet altitude.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Dual

Dual motors allow flight even if one fails<\/p><\/div>\n

Tier 1 <\/a>describes itself as \u201cA provider of engineering services, specializing in lightweight composite structures. We offer engineering design and build services to the Aerospace, Energy, Marine, Medical, and Consumer Product sectors. We handle all projects in a secure environment to protect client privacy and follow AS9100-compliant quality practices.\u201d<\/p>\n

Teir 1\u2019s President Glen Dromgoole, reports the September 21 flight at Los Alamitos Army Airfield in California, included a vertical takeoff, cruise and landing based solely on battery power.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Brammo's

Brammo’s 1,100-pound battery pack contributes to 2,500 pound gross weight<\/p><\/div>\n

Brammo contributed 1,100 pounds of lithium polymer batteries (approximately the weight of a Tesla S battery pack) to the effort, which included twin electric motors and a control system from Rinehart Motion Systems.<\/p>\n

The craft flew for five minutes on an oval course around the field, and landed with about 80-percent of the pack\u2019s energy remaining.\u00a0 It will be interesting to see future flights with greater altitudes and\/or endurance.<\/p>\n