Lindbergh Prize for Quietest Aircraft goes to e-Genius at NASA GFC (Photo Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls)

We just awarded first Lindbergh Prize for Quietest Aircraft to e-Genius – a university team out of Stuttgart, Germany!

e-Genius aircraft wins Lindbergh Prize for Quietest Aircraft

PC-Aero is the winner of the Lindbergh Prize for Electric Aircraft Vision Award for their integration of Solar World’s solar technology into their Electra One aircraft and the supporting hanger. Their vision is for the energy from the rooftop solar cells to not only provide power to the aircraft but also the hanger itself and excess energy to feed back to the power grid.

This is quite literally an electrifying time. Visionaries are taking risks. The field is alive with novel approaches and rich in activity and experimentation. With continued intellectual and financial investments, great opportunity exists for technological advancements that could apply well beyond electric aircraft. We are grateful for the incredible ongoing support of Sikorsky Helicopters and  Sergei and Elena Sikorsky. The heritage of  our visionary ancestors continues to serve as a brilliant  inspiration to push for the next giant LEAP in aviation technology – sustainable flight. Ok, maybe that was a little over the top, but I’m just sayin… Cheers, Erik

Best Electric Airplane- 
In the best airplane category, there were several noteworthy candidates. It was very difficult to determine a winner, as all of the finalists have done a great job creating the new world of electric  flight. The finalists were:
• The Hugues Duval Electric Cri-Cri with power by Electrivia.
• The Pipistrel Taurus Electro
• The Sunseeker II solar airplane by Eric Raymond

The winner is: The Pipistrel Taurus Electro

Best Electric Propulsion:

In the best electric power system category, there were many new developments at AERO. In the judging, our experts gave strong consideration to the commercialization and scalability potential of the systems reviewed. The finalists are:

• The LZ Design FES (front engine sustainer) system.
• The Rapid 200 Fuel Cell propulsion system from Polytechnic Torino.

The winner is: The LZ Design FES system

The ’Outstanding Achievement Award’ went to the Solar Impulse team of Bertrand Piccard and Andre’ Borschberg for their pioneering work on the Solar Impulse.

The Outstanding Achievement Award is granted for significant achievement in the field of electric flight for a single event or cumulative effort in any of the following areas: engineering, design, public outreach, regulatory, or education. We believe that the flights of Solar Impulse compare with my Grandfather’s flights in the Spirit of St. Louis, and the flights of SpaceshipOne, in that each shifted public perception of the potential of their respective industries

These efforts had their own extraordinary challenges and evolved in different ways, but they each took a nascent industry and moved it into mainstream consciousness. This is a critical step toward reaching a tipping point that will move the aviation industry into the future. From a spectacular original vision to assembling a world class team to the execution of the test flight program to the educational outreach, Solar Impulse has helped to bring the electric aircraft industry to its tipping point.

(top left) Wolfgang Von Zeppelin, Cornelius Dornier, Bertrand Piccard, HSH Prince Albert II, Andre’ Borschberg,  Erik Lindbergh, Sergei Sikorsky, Yolanka Wulff  and International LEAP student team members from the United States, Monaco and Germany.

LEAP Symposium   First Families of Flight  

 Wolfgang Von Zeppelin, Cornelius Dornier, His Serene Highness- Prince Albert II, Erik Lindbergh, Bertrand Piccard, Sergei Sikorsky-  discussion moderated by Yolanka Wulff

Danger HOT!!

In late February we participated in an extraordinary meeting at Argonne National Labs south of Chicago. The Electric Aircraft Industry forum is a newly formed group of industry stakeholders working to accelerate the development of the electric aircraft industry. We got a fantastic tour through several facilities including the area where they test all the new electric cars on dynonometers, develop new charging technologies, engines and all sorts of cool stuff. Driving around the campus alongside elevated cooling pipes and giant domes with neutron accelerators with 15 foot thick cement walls and an extra foot of steel pique your curiosity about each project and where they might take us in the future. Our host, Don Hillebrand briefs us that Argonne is all about displacing oil as fuel in our society. The photo is of a multifuel engine that Argonne is testing.  Cant wait to head down to Sun n Fun for our LEAP Student Presentations and work on the TV documentary series – more on those next post!

Erik and Yo with the Aero organizers

The first LEAP student team sizzle videos from Aviation High School in Seattle are up on our YouTube channel! We now have a LEAP student team from Eagle Harbor High School focusing on the Olympic Park Institute and its field based science education program inside Olympic National Park. The Hale Academy team in Florida is showcasing Embry Riddle Aeronautical University’s entry into the NASA Greenflight challenge and ERAU invited the students to help do some hands on work! ~ I wish I could have done something like this in High School!

We are busy planning for the second Lindbergh Electric Aircraft Prizes to be awarded at Aero Friedrichshafen Germany in April. I’m a little nervous about the task of putting on a big party in Germany when we are based in Seattle, but our developing partnerships with Aero, Willi Tacke, the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation and others are alleviating that distance concern and getting us very excited. We are planning to host an event with many of the pioneering aviation families who originally built up the industry to help promote the future of flight and the future of education.

Another exciting initiative we are planning for is our first LEAP Student Film Festival this fall in Seattle. Finally – a cool event in our home town!

LEAP is filming a documentary on its LEAP student teams in action. We intend to continue this filming as well as build a documentary on the emerging electric aircraft industry.

Help us to scale these extraordinary efforts and create a bright future by donating to LEAP. Let us know if your company would be interesting in sponsoring one of our events or programs.

Lindbergh Electric Aircraft Prize (LEAP) Awarded to Yuneec, Sonex and Axel Lange

Oshkosh, WI (July 30, 2010) – Today at the World Electric Aircraft Symposium at the Experimental Aircraft Association’s AirVenture, Erik Lindbergh, founder of the Creative Solutions Alliance (CSA) and grandson of Charles and Anne Morrow Lindbergh, announced the winners of the Lindbergh Electric Aircraft Prizes (LEAP).

LEAP is a suite of prizes that recognizes significant contributions to the development of practical electric flight, and stimulates meaningful advances in the fledgling electric aircraft industry. LEAP awarded a total of $25,000 in prize money, an amount equal to the Orteig prize that was won by Charles Lindbergh for his 1927 solo crossing of the Atlantic Ocean. In doing so, Charles Lindbergh changed the world’s perspective about the potential for aviation and opened the door for today’s $300 billion dollar aviation industry.

“We are witnessing the dawn of a new era in aviation technology,” said Erik Lindbergh. “As pilots, we need to take the initiative to find sustainable alternatives for the future of aviation.”

The prizes have been awarded for the following:
1) Best Electric Aircraft: Awarded for the best example of a practical electric aircraft in any category – Experimental, LSA, or Certified. The prize was awarded to Yuneec in recognition of Yuneec’s accomplishments in the design and engineering of the E430, an aircraft with significant commercial potential. With attention to production and market considerations in addition to a compelling design, Yuneec’s efforts have resulted in an aircraft that could make possible practical, sustained electric flight.

2) Best Electric Aircraft Sub-System or Component Technology: Defined as a set of components designed to work together to accomplish a specific task which advances the field of electric aircraft in performance, safety and practicality, or individual components that serve to advance the performance and practicality of electric aircraft. The prize was awarded to Sonex for the design and engineering of the eFlight Initiative electric propulsion system architecture. Their innovative engine cooling system, motor controller, battery pack, and integrated safety systems point to a thorough understanding of needs of the market with an eye toward commercialization, while mitigating potential safety issues.
3) Individual Achievement Award: Granted for significant individual achievement in the field of electric flight for a single event or cumulative effort in any of the following areas: engineering, design, public outreach, regulatory, or education. The prize was awarded to Axel Lange for his leadership and vision in the development of the Antares 20E, which is the world’s first certified production electric aircraft.  The 20E demonstrates a level of innovation, engineering, and integration that is currently unmatched. The 20E’s simplicity of use and elegance of electric power-train integration indicate a level of excellence in engineering and design that warrant this award.  Of particular interest is the fact the system monitors itself, and notifies the pilot of battery system status and potential failures.

LEAP has partnered with the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) who hosted the LEAP awards at Oshkosh AirVenture, the annual air show held each July in Oshkosh, WI.

LEAP announced that in 2011, LEAP prizes will be awarded at Aero-Friedrichschafen in Germany as well as at AirVenture.

Cant wait to ride to Airventure in the DC2!

What an incredibly busy month to get ready for the LEAP awards at Oshkosh Airventure. Airventure starts here at Rock Falls Airport for the DC3 gathering – some thirty DC-3′s gathering and flying into Airventure. I cant wait to fly in with Clay Lacy in this gorgeous aircraft! Somehow we have pulled all this together – six students (and two teachers) from Aviation High School are coming to investigate the electric aircraft industry and film a documentary. Our judging panel will be there to judge on Thursday. Bertrand Piccard and Andre Borschberg are coming from Switzerland fresh from their triumphant flights in the Solar Impulse. Burt Rutan has agreed to be interviewed by the AHS students after he makes his presentation at the electric aircraft symposium. Sikorsky is unveiling their new electric helicopter prototype – what a year for innovation! I will be giving the trophies away on Friday at 11:45 – what is it with events like this? The company that had promised to make the custom plaque/trophies told me at the last minute that they couldn’t do it – argh! After a flurry of calls I am assured I will have trophies shipped to the rental house in Oshkosh – whew! Didn’t need that at the last minute, but everything is dropping into place. An unbelievable amount of work has gone into this by a huge number of people who are fired up about the future of Electric Flight. Thank you to all of you! Special kudos to Dave Ginsberg who designed our logo (among other things) for all the amazing work he has done helping on both committees and finally realizing he couldn’t join us at the show. You are here in spirit Dave! More in a couple of days… Erik

Yesterday we had lunch with HSH Prince Albert II at Castel Roc restaurant in Monte Carlo, Monaco! Prince Albert and his foundation are very active in energy and the environment AND they are celebrating the 100^th anniversary of the first mail flight by flying 20 kilos of mail in an electric aircraft to Nice, France this summer.

My amazing friend and former Pan Am pilot Max Gurney from San Diego set up the meeting with the Prince which happened on his birthday.  Happy 89^th birthday Max! We look forward to working with the Prince and his foundation on Electric Aircraft in the future. Big thanks to Nikki Incandella who took great photographs!

What a whirlwind of travel in the last six weeks… Americus, Georgia where Grandfather bought and soloed his first plane (a Curtis Jenny) for a LEAP speaking engagement, then Denver to present at the Wings Over the Rockies Museum Gala. May 14^th had me in San Francisco for two days of XPRIZE Visioneering meetings, then off to the Cradle of Aviation Museum in New York for another gig.

We are well on our way to awarding the first of our annual suite of Lindbergh Electric Aircraft Prizes at the World Electric Aircraft Symposium on July 30^th. The technical advisory committee and the Education committee have been doing incredible work preparing for our programs at Airventure. This has been a monumental effort by a lot of people, and thanks to a lot of volunteers and a few visionary donors, we are going to rock!

Most importantly our team of kids from Aviation High School are going to rock! Six students immersing themselves into the world of electric powered flight and making a documentary. Interviewing inventors, entrepreneurs, pilots and industry leaders. Talking, tinkering, asking questions, finding answers… Seeking out the potentials and the barriers to practical electric flight.

Working together they are going to share what they’ve learned with the rest of the world. They are making their own contribution to the next big leap in aviation technology. I wish I had this opportunity when I was in high school!

Stop by and see us at the Aviation Learning Center at EAA Airventure in Oshkosh:  July 26^th through August 1. You can also sign up for the LEAP newsletter: http://lindberghprize.org/contact and join our founders circle to help us shape the future of aviation and education for generations to come.