{"id":13954,"date":"2021-03-08T19:23:34","date_gmt":"2021-03-09T02:23:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cafe.foundation\/blog\/?p=13954"},"modified":"2021-03-08T19:23:34","modified_gmt":"2021-03-09T02:23:34","slug":"two-ways-to-haul-19-on-h2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/cafe.foundation\/blog\/two-ways-to-haul-19-on-h2\/","title":{"rendered":"Two Ways to Haul 19 on H2"},"content":{"rendered":"

Pipistel and Delft Technical University have introduced hydrogen (H2<\/sup>) powered, 19-seat airliners for the intermediate-range market.\u00a0 Both are unique configurations with unique propulsion concepts.\u00a0 Both attempt to lower drag through the use of their propulsive systems.<\/p>\n

Pipistrel Miniliner<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Pipistrel announced their Miniliner concept<\/a> as a response to a \u201csignificant market potential\u201d for a \u201czero-emission airplane in the 20-seat size class, capable of operating quietly from runways shorter than 1 [kilometer], including grass airstrips at small aerodromes.\u201d\u00a0 Seen as a disruptive element in providing service to currently unserved areas within a 200 to 1,000 kilometer (124 to 620 mile) range, the Miniliner could also serve as a microfeeder craft between small airports and large hubs.<\/p>\n

Although Pipistrel is somewhat mum about the internal and powerplant details for the craft, the propeller locations seem to indicate a major effort to reduce drag and eliminate wingtip vortices.\u00a0 The tail, for instance, is very much what Bruce Carmichael, a proponent of laminar-flow designs, proposed for light aircraft for decades.<\/p>\n

A major part of MAHEPA (Modular Approach to Hybrid-Electric Propulsion Architecture)<\/a> for several years, Pipistrel is also \u201cactively performing conceptual design studies in-house, as well as partnering with universities under the also EU-funded UNIFIER19 project<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

This is the only rendering of their Miniliner Pipistrel has released, part of a quiet introduction that avoids details<\/p><\/div>\n

Pipistrel and two project partners from Politecnico di Milano and TU Delft, \u201c\u2026have laid groundwork, methodology and tools for multi-objective interdisciplinary design and optimization of a brand-new near-zero-emission regional aircraft concept.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pipistrel is now working to overcome the \u201c40-year-old designs, powered by fuel-burning, noisy and maintenance-intensive turboprop engines, currently in service.\u00a0 They hope to be part of UNIFER\u2019s mission of turning out zero-emission craft<\/a> that will \u201callow for a Direct Operating Cost (DOC) reduction of 30 to 40 percent on a per-seat metric relative to today\u2019s solutions.\u00a0 Advanced flight automation technologies will \u201cfacilitate single-pilot operations.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Trans-European Transport Network, with hub airports are indicated as white aircraft silhouette in black circles; airports capable of 20-70 passengers aircraft indicated as black aircraft silhouettes<\/p><\/div>\n

The company sees an Entry into Service (EIS) of 2028 to 2030, without major large infrastructure investments.\u00a0 With various European Union and multiple industry partners, Pipistrel foresees regulatory and operational acceptance.<\/p>\n

Pipistrel designer Tine Tomazic explained to Flight Global<\/em><\/a> that the maximum take-off weight will be around 8,500 to 9,000 kilograms (18,700 to 19,800 pounds), \u201cslightly above the 8,618kg upper limit for CS-23 aircraft.\u201d\u00a0 He feels that good relations with regulators, made possible by the successful certification of the Velis Electro, may enable some relaxation of those limits.<\/p>\n

Since clean hydrogen production and distribution is a growing factor in Europe, Pipistrel\u2019s Miniliner will benefit from an increasing readiness to service fleets of 19-seat H2-powered aircraft.<\/p>\n

Delft TU\u2019s Greenliner<\/strong><\/h4>\n

As explained on the project\u2019s web site, \u201cThe Greenliner was designed during the Design Synthesis Exercise which is the final graduation project of the Aerospace Engineering Bachelor<\/a> program at the Delft University of Technology.\u201d\u00a0 It\u2019s rather astounding to think this was designed by 10 students in 10 weeks.\u00a0 They received well-deserved high grades and the 2018 Anthony Fokker Prize from The Dutch Aerospace Foundation.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Their 134-page technical report,<\/a> encompassing the range of disciplines involved, is evidence of the many overnighters they must have pulled putting the design together.<\/p>\n

Like the Pipistrel design, the Greenliner uses liquid hydrogen stored inside the fuselage behind the passenger cabin as its fuel. \u00a0Fuel cells inside the wings produce electricity which then powers 18 propellers at the back of the fuselage.\u00a0 This latter feature is part of an approach to boundary layer ingestion (BLI)<\/a> which pulls the airflow over the last part of the fuselage back into the boundary layer.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n