{"id":1916,"date":"2010-10-10T22:28:39","date_gmt":"2010-10-11T05:28:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cafe.foundation\/blog\/?p=1916"},"modified":"2010-10-10T22:29:28","modified_gmt":"2010-10-11T05:29:28","slug":"green-flight-challenge-it-might-look-like-a-quickie","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/cafe.foundation\/blog\/green-flight-challenge-it-might-look-like-a-quickie\/","title":{"rendered":"Green Flight Challenge: It Might Look Like a Quickie…"},"content":{"rendered":"

But it will be the Feuling Green Flight Challenger<\/a>, an entirely new iteration of the Quickie \u201cformula\u201d if Gene Sheehan, Vic Turner, Luke Leatherman and Allon McBee have their way.\u00a0 Created in the wake of the Vari-Eze\u2019s and Long-Eze\u2019s of the early 1970\u2019s, the original Quickie was an 18-horsepower Onan industrial engine-powered irreducible flying machine with great speed for its low power and unbelievable fuel economy. \u00a0The team\u2019s GFC Challenger is electric, and a far cry from its cast iron past \u2013 or the iron-horse Harley-Davidson motorcycles that are part of its surroundings.<\/p>\n

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Allon McBee working on the carbon fiber fuselage mold<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cFeuling\u201d comes from the high-performance motorcycle and automobile developer who started the company bearing his name.\u00a0 Jim Feuling had over 100 patents to his name, worked with the big names in the racing world, and created a 500 mile-per-gallon engine (at 55 miles per hour) for Honda\u2019s streamliner and fielded a record-breaking motorcycle streamliner that clocked 333.847 mph on the Bonneville Salt Flats on October 20th, 1999. \u00a0The most famous product of that part of the Feuling empire may be the W3 engine<\/a>, a performance enhancement for Harleys that places an additional cylinder between the normal two, changing the V-twin to a W-3.\u00a0 Tuned mildly, and extremely well balanced, the 2,458 cc engine puts out 150 reliable horsepower and very little of the thump that shakes two-cylinder H-D frames and those of their riders.\u00a0 Jim Feuling died in 2002, but the company, now Mojave based<\/a>, continues to make twin-cam accessories.<\/p>\n

In a conversation with Gene Sheehan, he explained that he had made serious inroads into creating a modern Quickie with a new industrial V-twin engine, noting that the fuel burn was low enough to make it GFC competitive.\u00a0 Weighing his options (quite literally), he decided that the original\u2019s 95-pound Onan and its 48 pounds (eight gallons) of fuel could be replaced by a 25-pound electric motor and 70 pounds of batteries to suit the requirements of the Challenge. \u00a0\u00a0Gene describes the issue of battery weight as a \u201ccurse\u201d in terms of staying within airframe limits.<\/p>\n

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Ground testing an electric motor with a lead-acid battery<\/p><\/div>\n

With new carbon-fiber cloth, a confidential honeycomb material, and careful weight management on the wet layups, the Green Flight Challenger could be not only structurally lighter than the original, but an attractively-priced competitor.\u00a0 Team Feuling anticipates an empty weight of 240 pounds for the slightly smaller-than-original Quickie airframe.\u00a0 Gene estimates $25,000 for airplane, motor, batteries and all, arguably the lowest cost of any aircraft in the GFC.<\/p>\n

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Kevlar vertical fin, showing the large-cell honeycomb<\/p><\/div>\n

Where the original Quickie had a leisurely rate of climb, the Green Flight Challenger will have to meet the takeoff and landing dictates of the Challenge rules, including clearing a 50-foot obstacle within 2,000 feet of brake release.\u00a0 Gene assures that this will be part of the airplane\u2019s capabilities.\u00a0 Quickie\u2019s seating and visibility easily fall within GFC parameters, illustrating the far-sighted nature of the original design.<\/p>\n

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Vic Turner holding his masterpiece<\/p><\/div>\n

Electric power brings the additional advantage of lowered cooling drag, possibly as little as 15 to 25 percent of that for chilling out the original\u2019s internal-combustion engine, according to Luke Leatherman.\u00a0 The 90 percent or greater efficiency of most modern electric motors means they squeeze the most out of every kilowatt hour from their batteries, making up somewhat for the energy-to-weight ratio of most packs.<\/p>\n

Natural Laminar Flow (NLF) airfoils will replace the more turbulent originals, adding to the sleekness of the overall craft and improving speed and economy.<\/p>\n

Having seen a resurgence of interest in the gas-fueled Quickie, Gene Sheehan believes that the Green Flight Challenger has the potential to be a marketable airplane.\u00a0 He sees it as a great \u201cairport flyer\u201d for building time, with handling characteristics that make it pilot\u2019s airplane.\u00a0 At a dollar or so per recharge for an hour or two of flying, this craft would definitely have a following.\u00a0 Gene notes that airports will need to build a charging station infrastructure to support the coming wave of electric aircraft.<\/p>\n

Vic Turner, an early Quickie customer and winner of the first CAFE challenge and several Lowers-Baker-Falck\u00a0contests at Oshkosh, will provide race-winning experience for the team.\u00a0
\nWith the combination of expertise, a refined airplane and a high level of enthusiasm, the Team looks forward to flying their entry from Mojave to the Green Flight Challenge at Santa Rosa\u2019s Charles M. Schulz\u00a0Sonoma County\u00a0Airport next July, possibly in one hop.\u00a0 They will compete against other, equally dedicated teams, but few will have as much fun getting there.<\/p>\n