NASA Ames Workshop
NASA Aeronautics focuses on Green Technology
May 11, 2009
NASA Ames Research Center Chief Scientist, Stephanie Langhoff, invited CAFE Foundation President Brien A. Seeley M.D. to join a select panel of NASA and industry experts at NASA’s April 25, 26 workshop on making aviation greener. Bio-fuels, renewable energy and electric powered flight were main topics. Dr. Seeley presented the CAFE/NASA plans for a 2011 flight competition to stimulate these technologies.
Rules for Next NASA Flight Competition
May 4, 2009
The CAFE Foundation has posted rules for the NASA Centennial Challenge in Aeronautics, the “Green Flight Challenge ”. These rules are summarized in Appendix A of the draft document [pdf 1.9 MB].
CAFE posts FAA Guidelines for Field of View
Key guide document for Green Flight Challenge posted
April 22, 2009
To qualify for the Green Flight Challenge, all teams must fulfill the guidelines for Field of View for pilot and co-pilot as described in FAA.AC25.773-1 [pdf, 410 kb].
Goldschmied Propulsion Papers Now Available
March 20, 2009
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The CAFE Foundation is very pleased to offer a new array of important reports on extreme body drag reduction in its PAV Technology Library. These reports include work on Goldschmied propulsion that should prove valuable to any team planning to compete in the NASA Centennial Challenge flight competition.
Hydrogenius Team to Present at EAS 2009
March 13, 2009
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CAFE has just arranged for Len Scumann and Steffen Geinitz from the University of Stuttgart, Germany to come to EAS III to present their exciting work on the new Hydrogenius fuel cell 2 seat aircraft.
The CAFE Green Flight Challenge
October 28, 2008
The CAFE Foundation has developed and submitted to NASA a detailed proposal for the CAFE Green Flight Challenge , a $1M flight competition for safe, practical aircraft that can simultaneously demonstrate ≥ 100 MPG and ≥ 100 mph. Aimed to attract university teams to compete, the event is currently proposed as a 200 statute mile race in July 2010 that would favor aircraft propelled by electricity. Stayed tuned here for its official announcement.
CAFE visits Stanford's DARPA Challenge Vehicle
October 24, 2008
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By invitation, CAFE officials made a special visit to Stanford's Artificial Intelligence Laboratory to explore its advanced work in pilotless vehicles. Stanford's Adam Coates and Michael Montemerlo hosted the visit, which included a look at the sensors, hardware and software that enable Stanford's autonomous helicopter and DARPA Challenge Car to pilot themselves.
A short drive around campus in the car revealed its amazing real-time capabilities to detect and avoid obstacles. CAFE believes that such capabilities, when applied to personal aircraft, will greatly enhance their safety and consumer popularity.
3rd Annual Electric Aircraft Symposium
October 23, 2008
CAFE announced plans for the 3rd Annual Electric Aircraft Symposium set for Friday, April 24, 2009 at the Hiller Aviation Museum in San Carlos, California. The all-day meeting will feature the top experts in this exciting field and will be followed by a networking dinner in the museum. Stay tuned here for information regarding registration and speaker agenda.
CAFE Visits NASA Dryden
August 29, 2008
The CAFE team made a special visit to meet with Dryden flight test engineers on August 29, 2008. Dryden's team were shown and briefed on CAFE's flight test equipment. The meeting included discussions about best practices for testing noise, airspeed and temperature, mitigating air mass effects, and ruggedizing flight test hardware. After the meetings, the CAFE team was given an insider's tour of Dryden's facility and specialized aircraft, including a turn at flying the amazing F-18 simulator.
2008 NASA GAT Challenge Press Release
July 15, 2008
Santa Rosa, California: The five teams competing in the $300,000 NASA-funded General Aviation Technology Challenge were announced today by the host flight test agency, the non-profit CAFE Foundation. The aircraft represent an interesting array; all are aircraft with 2 seats side-by-side and four of the five are popular Light Sport Aircraft (LSA). One will fly on bio-diesel fuel. The main prize in this year’s event is for aircraft with exceptionally low community noise emissions.
The flight competition will be staged at the CAFE Flight Test Center at Charles M. Schulz Sonoma County Airport beginning on August 5, 2008 and conclude with a cross-country “Green Prize” race on Saturday August 9. The five teams are:
- “Team Pipistrel” flying a Pipistrel Virus 912, team leader Frank Vance Turner
- “Team Aerochia” flying a modified Diamond DA20-A1, team leader Geoff Stevenson
- “Team Wilkinson Aero Sport” flying a Dynamic WT9, team leader Neil Wilkinson
- “Team Lambada” flying a UFM-13 Lambada, team leader John A. Dunham
- “Team Flight Refine”, flying a Flight Design CT, team leader John Robert “Bob” Basham
The competition will use CAFE’s highly accurate flight test equipment to measure aircraft performance, handling, fuel economy and noise. Skilled volunteers from EAA Chapter 124 make the event possible. A static display of the winning aircraft and their scores will be open and free to the public at Charles M. Schulz Sonoma County Airport’s CAFE Foundation Flight Test Center on August 10 from 9 AM to 1 PM. For further details please email: Cafe400@sonic.net.
The CAFE Foundation, of Santa Rosa, California, creates and shares understanding of personal aircraft technologies by careful measurement and analysis of aircraft performance. It is a 501c3 educational organization with a 27 year history of flight testing small personal aircraft. CAFE was selected by NASA to conduct the annual aeronautical competition as part of the Centennial Challenges program. A complete history is found at: cafefoundation.org
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