{"id":3621,"date":"2011-06-27T23:10:07","date_gmt":"2011-06-28T06:10:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cafe.foundation\/blog\/?p=3621"},"modified":"2011-06-27T23:10:07","modified_gmt":"2011-06-28T06:10:07","slug":"greenelis-gfc-contender-makes-paris-air-show","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/cafe.foundation\/blog\/greenelis-gfc-contender-makes-paris-air-show\/","title":{"rendered":"Greenelis GFC Contender Makes Paris Air Show"},"content":{"rendered":"

A trio of plane makers was seen pushing a trailer with an aeronautical looking object into the Paris Air Show last week.\u00a0 It turned out to be the Greenelis PXLD<\/a>, a Green Flight Challenge flyer, and it looked a great deal like the offspring of the Dieselis and the Gazaille, two French light sport aircraft powered by converted Diesel automobile engines and designed by Paul Lucas.<\/p>\n

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Bernard Stervinou, left, Arthur Nirma, center, and Paul Lucas unload their improved fuel economy plane Greenelis at the Paris Air Show in Le Bourget, east of Paris, Sunday, June 19, 2011. AP Photo\/Michel Euler<\/p><\/div>\n

Like its predecessors, it is made of wood and plywood, but in this case has a wing spar built of carbon fiber with \u201cinnovative geometry\u201d and\u00a0a wing\u00a0covered with plywood.\u00a0 Greenelis\u2019 fuselage has wooden formers and longerons, and like its forbearers, a plywood shell giving its aerodynamic form.<\/p>\n

The 11 meter (35.2-foot) span, Two-place side by side craft is powered by an 800 cc Mercedes Smartcar turbocharged Diesel engine that produces 30 kilowatts, or 42 horsepower.\u00a0 A single retractable, center-line landing gear (with outriggers) helps give the 275-kilogram (605 pounds) empty-weight airplane a 220 kilometer per hour (136.4 mph) top speed and a 160 km\/hr (99.2 mph) cruise.\u00a0 At that speed its petite engine sips a mere 1.8 liters per 100 kilometers (130.7 miles per gallon), or 261.4 passenger miles per gallon, well within one Green Flight Challenge criterion.<\/p>\n

Lawrence Speer will be team leader for the GFC, and Paul Lucas, besides designing Greenelis, is constructing the craft, along with Bernard Stervinou and Arthur Nirma.\u00a0 Alain Raposo is responsible for keeping the Mercedes humming, Romain Lucas for keeping the airplane\u2019s electronics from<\/em> humming, \u00a0Julien Stervinou plots the flight strategy necessary to win and Pauline Stervinou provides the photographs and words to the outside world.<\/div>\n<\/p>\n

On static display for the week, showing off its F-WGFC registration, Greenelis shared the limelight with its larger and tinier green counterparts in\u00a0exemplifying the quest for ultimate aeronautical efficiency.<\/p>\n

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