{"id":12465,"date":"2020-06-30T20:41:22","date_gmt":"2020-07-01T03:41:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cafe.foundation\/blog\/?p=12465"},"modified":"2020-06-30T20:42:19","modified_gmt":"2020-07-01T03:42:19","slug":"eric-raymond-shares-a-vision","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/cafe.foundation\/blog\/eric-raymond-shares-a-vision\/","title":{"rendered":"Eric Raymond Shares a Vision"},"content":{"rendered":"

Eric Raymond is a real pioneer in electric aviation<\/a>.\u00a0 Decades before Solar Impulse made its epic flights Eric navigated his solar-powered Sunseeker I across the United States in 21 hops, traveling from Desert Center, California to Kitty Hawk, North Carolina.<\/p>\n

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Sunseeker 1 departing Desert Center, California from which cross U. S. trip began in 1990<\/p><\/div>\n

He flew over the Matterhorn on his way from Germany to Italy in Sunseeker II.\u00a0 He and his wife Irena build the world\u2019s first two-seat solar-powered airplane, the Duo, which they regularly fly over Italy and Switzerland.\u00a0 He shared the promise and mystique of such flight with the readers of Travel Forward<\/em><\/a> recently.<\/p>\n

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Sunseeker 2 looking back at Matterhorn after successful crossing<\/p><\/div>\n

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The Future is Electric: Exploring the World in a Two Seat Solar Powered Airplane<\/strong><\/h3>\n

MAY 18, 2020<\/a><\/p>\n

BY\u00a0TRAVEL FORWARD<\/a><\/p>\n

While Tesla and other car manufacturers are changing the way we commute, prototype electric airplanes are set to change the way we fly in the future.<\/p>\n

Aviation has become the\u00a0last frontier to become more environmentally friendly<\/a>, even though technology devolved for electric vehicles can be adapted for aircraft. Since 1975, many airplanes have been powered with electric motors, with ever-increasing capabilities.\u00a0 Since batteries can give power only for a limited time, the first airplanes to take advantage of electric motors have been gliders.<\/p>\n

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Eric and Irena Raymond in Sunseeker Duo, having just flown over Matterhorn on trip from Italy to Switzerland, 2015<\/p><\/div>\n

After taking off and climbing with the power from the on board batteries, they can turn off the motor and fly peacefully over land for hours. A lot of us may have a preconceived image of what a solar panel looks like, never dreaming they could be part of an airplanes structure. However, they fit neatly onto gliders, enabling the recharging of batteries whilst in the air! This saves not only petrol and fuel emissions entering the atmosphere but also allows the motor to run with full batteries several times per flight.<\/p>\n