Advanced flightdecks, high-lift devices, short take-off and landing capabilities, fuel efficiency and low noise will be the focus of next year's $300,000 NASA Centennial Challenge personal air vehicle competition, after $250,000 in prizes were awarded at this year's inaugural event in Santa Rosa, California.
Organised for NASA by the California based-Comparative Aircraft Flight Efficiency (CAFE) foundation, the competition drew four teams. It was the first of five annual events intended to promote self-operated, personal aircraft for fast, safe, efficient, affordable, environmentally friendly and comfortable on-demand transport. The total prize purse is $2 million.
Over the next four years NASA hopes its cash prizes will spur developments in aerodynamic and structural efficiency, propulsion and thermodynamics, advanced pilot assistance and ease of flying.
CAFE's PAV goals and financial prize amounts are based on an unfinished NASA study conducted in 2005, which ended prematurely due to cancellation of the agency's vehicle systems programme.
That study allowed NASA to determine the likely investment required to achieve the technology objectives, develop an initial set of critical technologies and show that a two-seat light-sport aircraft could achieve a cruise speed of 112kt (208km/h) with fuel consumption of 42.2km/litre (87nm/USgal).
"Critical technologies...include the use of wingtip turbines instead of very high aspect-ratio wings for stowage and handling qualities a new form of simplified flaps to achieve a 30% increase in wing loading and several unique drag reduction mechanisms," says Mark Moore, former PAV manager for the cancelled vehicle systems programme.
Moore says that almost all of the technologies are applicable to unmanned air vehicles and that there is "lots of room for improvement" in general aviation as there had been "little small aircraft research and development over the last 20 years".
Winners of the 2007 PAV competition included Vance Turner's Slovenian-produced Pipistrel Virus, which took home $160,000 after coming first for overall performance, fuel efficiency and runway distance, and second for top speed, A modified Rans RV-4 won $65,000 for noise and top speed and the $25,000 handling-quality prize was won by a Cessna 172.
Source: Flight International
