{"id":12632,"date":"2020-09-06T22:20:02","date_gmt":"2020-09-07T05:20:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cafe.foundation\/blog\/?p=12632"},"modified":"2020-09-06T22:20:02","modified_gmt":"2020-09-07T05:20:02","slug":"on-to-the-north-sea-electrically","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/cafe.foundation\/blog\/on-to-the-north-sea-electrically\/","title":{"rendered":"On to the North Sea, Electrically"},"content":{"rendered":"

Elektroweltrekordflug<\/h4>\n

A team in Switzerland attempted an elektroweltrekordflug, an electric world record flight<\/a>, hoping to set seven world records in one 700-kilometer trip. Flying a new, certified Pipistrel Velis, the team of Marco Buholzer and co-pilot Morell Westermann hoped to find their way into the Guinness Book of World Records for the following:<\/p>\n

\u2022 Lowest energy consumption (kWh \/ 100 km -62 miles) over 700km (434 miles)
\n\u2022 Highest average speed over 700 km (km \/ h)
\n\u2022 Highest flight altitude ever reached with an electric aircraft (meters – 3.280 feet – above main sea level)
\n\u2022 Fastest climbing performance from 0-1000m \/ 1000-2000m \/ 2000-3000m (m \/ s)
\n\u2022 Fastest average speed over 100km (km \/ h)
\n\u2022 Smallest number of intermediate stops over a distance of 700 km (number of stops)`
\n\u2022 Longest electrically flown route in 24\/48\/56 hours (km)<\/p>\n

The team made much the same point that Gabriel DeVault made in accepting the MacCready Prize at last year\u2019s Sustainable Aviation Symposium. \u201cAnyone who drives an e-car knows that the route Zurich-Norderney is no longer a problem with an electric car. With the electric airplane, however, it is a modern adventure, a flying expedition from the Alps to the North Sea.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Pipistrel Velis braves a wet Monday morning to head north<\/p><\/div>\n

Following a one-day weather delay, the trek went fairly uneventfully. On Sunday morning, August 30, over 100 people and 50 electric cars crowded the airfield at Sch\u00e4nis (LSZX), with a pop-up e-mobility show and a Futuricum e-truck on display. Planned to start around 10:00, the world record flight was primed to head for Donaueschingen (EDTD), where it was scheduled to land around 2:30 local time. Weather, unfortunately, was damp and dismal, but didn\u2019t dampen the crowd\u2019s enthusiasm. The party went on, but the flight didn\u2019t \u2013 until the following morning, when the little Velis hopped into the air and made its way north.<\/p>\n

First Landing in Germany<\/h4>\n

After a recharging stop in Birrfeld on Switzerland\u2019s northern border, the pair of pilots navigated to Donaueschingen airfield. Hans-J\u00fcrgen G\u00f6tz reported from the flight\u2019s first stop in Germany<\/a> that, \u201cAnyone who thought airplanes were loud and only burn fossil fuels was taught a different story on Monday. Shortly after eleven o’clock the first civilly registered electric airplane landed\u2026 almost silent and purely electric.\u201dBuholzer and Morell were met by \u201caround 50 electric vehicle enthusiasts from the region.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Marco Buholzer and Morell Westermann from Sch\u00e4nis stop to charge their electric airplane Pipistrel Velis Elektro at Donaueschingen airfield. | Image: Hans-J\u00fcrgen G\u00f6tz<\/p><\/div>\n

At Bad D\u00fcrkheim (EDRF) the team was promised \u201cserious\u201d hospitality and \u201ca great audience program.\u201d They were not disappointed. Food and beverages and dozens of electric cars and their owners were on hand. The team held forth with a mini lecture about the trip up to that point and the project.<\/p>\n

That busy afternoon saw stops at Lahr airfield (B140), Karlsruhe \/ Baden-Baden Airport (FKB), and a well-deserved overnight stay at the Flugplatz Bad D\u00fcrkheim.<\/p>\n

Tuesday to Munster-Telge<\/h4>\n