Super New Technology

[Bill Greenwood]

For you guys that are really on the forefront of new aircraft design, like perhpaps an airplane powered by batteries, ie an electric airplane. A few have already flown and maybe more to come and develop into more useful performance and not just a novelty.

Now here may be the next step.
What if you could power the charging or those batteries by a new source, a new type of electricty? Not solar or nuclear, not gas or coal fired.

There is a new company are at least a new company proposed called SEFE, inc. stock symbol SEFE on over the counter trading.
The company proposed to get electricity from static electric charges in the atmosphere. They would send a balloon aloft with a black box and a wire to capture the electricity and send it to the ground and to the grid.
The claim cost per kw/hr is .20 for solar, .14 for nuclear, .07 for wind, and only .03 cents for SEFE.

So this ought to be far out enough for most EAA experimental folks.
I do NOT recomend this for anyone to buy in any way. Just take a look at it and think of the idea. And I'd wear a good pair of rubber boots around any source of electricity. I have no other knowledge of the company, the stock, or the process, and I have no financial interest in this at all.

[Bill Berson]

That's funny. Was this an elaborate April Fools joke? http://sefelectric.com/

I especially liked the video... which showed an impressive .01 millivolt.:eek:

[Flyfalcons]

I do NOT recomend this for anyone to buy in any way.

LOL, neither do I.

[Bill Greenwood]

As for as I know, it's nothing to do with April Fools. I am getting my information from a stock market brochure that I just got in the mail. It is an actual stock, you can look it up.

[steveinindy]

I get the feeling a Nigerian prince with a frozen bank account has about the same level of credibility. LOL

[CheckerBird]

I get the feeling a Nigerian prince with a frozen bank account has about the same level of credibility. LOL

Either that... or the technology actually does work, except the "naturally occurring static electricity" it intends to gather from the atmosphere is in the form of lightning bolts and you'll have to fly the aircraft only inside thunderstorms so that you can charge its flux capacitor with 1.21 jiggawatts! :P

[Dana]

Unless the inventor's name is John Galt...

[Bill Greenwood]

Neal, the airplane doesn't get it's electricity directly from the airborne static charge, even a thunderstorm. Rather IF this works the electricity goes to the ground grid and is then used like any wind or solar or whatever.
it would only be to charge the batteries of an electric on the ground, not in flight.
Who is John Galt?

The brochure has one drawing and is not too clear about how this happens in the sky.

[CheckerBird]

Neal, the airplane doesn't get it's electricity directly from the airborne static charge, even a thunderstorm. Rather IF this works the electricity goes to the ground grid and is then used like any wind or solar or whatever.

I know that... I was just being a comedian :)

On the subject of electric/hybrid airplanes, here is a recent story about a Velocity-like pusher canard that's making some pretty bold claims.

http://www.extremetech.com/extreme/127981-the-chevy-volt-of-airplanes-the-volta-volare-is-ready-to-fly

I can't help but wonder how much useful load it's gonna have with 900 lbs of batteries on board and no mention how much its 600-peak-hp electric motor weighs... or how much its aux gas-powered engine weighs.



Who is John Galt?


(shrugs) dunno;)

[steveinindy]

here is a recent story about a Velocity-like pusher canard that's making some pretty bold claims.

If that goes anywhere (besides to the "inventor's" pockets), I'll be extremely shocked.

[Frank Giger]

You'd be shocked - I get it! :D

What they need to do is put a wind generator on an electric airplane to recharge the batteries in flight.*

One really doesn't need a balloon to get the same generation, btw. A copious amount of wire as an antenna will pull elecromagnetic waves from the air and generate a current - but a very tiny one.

* Not applicable in all states. See you local jurisdiction for applicability of the laws concerning energy conservation. Designers do not recommend operating at temperatures above one degree Kelvin.

[rwanttaja]

You'd be shocked - I get it! :D

What they need to do is put a wind generator on an electric airplane to recharge the batteries in flight.

Sorry Frank..the idea is already patented!
1943
From the patent: “At a given time the aviator may stop the gasoline motor and in the same instance both disengage the clutch and close the switch…the electric motor thus acts in substitution for the gasoline motor. Forward motion of the aircraft at characteristic high speed will keep the wind wheels turning….Electrical propulsion of the propeller may therefore be continued over an extended period…”

Though I guess it's probably expired by now....

Ron Wanttaja

[Jeff Point]

Who is John Galt?

That's either very funny or very ironic!