{"id":5752,"date":"2012-05-14T16:52:15","date_gmt":"2012-05-14T23:52:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cafe.foundation\/blog\/?p=5752"},"modified":"2012-05-14T19:00:14","modified_gmt":"2012-05-15T02:00:14","slug":"5752","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/cafe.foundation\/blog\/5752\/","title":{"rendered":"Volta Volare’ at EAS VI"},"content":{"rendered":"

Action at the sixth annual Electric Aircraft Symposium did not stop at the end of each day\u2019s presentations, but carried into the evening hours on Friday, April 27.\u00a0 Three theme dinners allowed additional speakers to present materials on motors, aerodynamics, or energy.<\/p>\n

Paul Peterson, the founder and CEO of Volta Volare\u2019<\/a>, introduced the dinner crowd to his Volta Volare\u2019 GT4 high-performance, hybrid aircraft, which joins Pipistrel\u2019s Pantera and John McGinnis\u2019 Synergy in the realm of fast, roomy airplanes that will have operating costs far below those of similar traditional airplanes.<\/p>\n

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Volta Volare' in flight<\/p><\/div>\n

When your editor saw news about Peterson\u2019s creation in Popular Science<\/em>, he asked Dr. Seeley if CAFE could invite him to the EAS, which received an immediate, positive response, and Peterson unveiled his airplane to an appreciative and knowledgeable audience.<\/p>\n

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Room to spare for people and instruments<\/p><\/div>\n

The GT4 is a four\/five seat canard, currently flying and originally designed with a Continental TSIO550 engine in mind, but re-engineered from the firewall aft to house the hybrid EViation Drive system developed at Volta Volare\u2019s Hillsboro, Oregon \u201cskunk works.\u201d<\/p>\n

The hybrid system will use two electric motors to rotate the propeller, and these in turn will be powered by batteries charged by a turbocharged ICE spinning a generator.\u00a0 The hybrid system, since it uses the optimum operating speed for the engine, burns just over seven gallons per hour and gives over 34 miles per gallon at a cruising speed of 240 mph (210 knots).\u00a0 With a possible five people on board (with the optional rear bench seat), this could give Volta Volare\u2019 an economical 170 passenger miles per gallon.<\/p>\n

Peterson\u2019s specifications for the airplane show a 2,600 pound empty weight machine capable of carrying 1,200 pounds useful load.\u00a0 Subtract the 23 gallons (138 pounds) fuel load and you have 1,062 for carry people and luggage.\u00a0 The airplane is claimed to have a takeoff distance of 1,400 feet, rate of climb of 1,800 feet per minute, and landing distance of 1,500 feet \u2013 qualifying it to launch and land at most paved airports in America.\u00a0 The normal fuel load could carry the GT4 788 miles without a reserve.\u00a0 Peterson projects 1,000 nautical miles (1,150 statute miles) at a more moderate cruising speed using 55-percent power with generator.<\/p>\n

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20 feet long with 31-foot span, GT4 can carry up to five<\/p><\/div>\n

The airplane\u2019s strakes provide ample room for the battery load, and when the full-electric version becomes available the Range Extender Generator (REX) and its auxiliary fuel tank will be replaced with more (and more powerful) batteries.\u00a0 The aircraft was originally designed to hold over 120 gallons of avgas in the wing strakes, close to the airplane\u2019s center of gravity, and a 23 gallon belly tank currently used to fuel the REX.<\/p>\n

With an ambitious development plan, multiple flight modes like those of the Pantera, and projected economies of operation approaching those of Synergy, the GT4 looks like a worthy competitor and a sign of resurgence in the general aviation inventory.<\/p>\n