Antares E2 on the annual German Gliders Day 2018
At 10 o'clock, the event began under the patronage of ministerial president Malu Dreyer. There were lectures all day long. Among others, the German Air Traffic Control (DFS) and the well-known ZDF meteorologist Dr. med. Gunther Tiersch. Another highlight was the talk by Martin Görlitz and Axel Lange on "Sustainability in aviation".
Görlitz and Lange also presented the research aircraft Antares E2. The futuristic-looking sailplane is powered by a revolutionary fuel cell system.
The technically driven mobility of humans is a significant contribution to the climate problem. A reduction of CO2, but also of the remaining greenhouse gases is of the utmost importance. Investigations basically certify environmentally unacceptable values to all modes of transport today. In the car, in the train and in the aviation, there are each the different calculations, all more or less disagree, how much fuel per person per 100km is used. This is still about gross - net / primary energy demand, etc. But there is one difference: The car and the train can be operated structurally emission-free. Both can already drive completely electrically with solar energy today. It is therefore important to align the entire system, the entire energy chain of a drive, with zero emissions. That is possible.
Electrically flying is possible, due to the heavy battery storage but only for short distances or operating times and rather not with passengers. In the past you could fly only as a glider, today the layman usually thinks of "electric flying" as a quadrocopter, drone, or whatever you call the aircraft, which fall off when you turn off the engine, which means that it simply does not have any gliding characteristics have, glide ratio zero? We see that a lot of research and development is currently happening in this area. Startups in aviation seem n to convey that you will soon have electric Kopter-based air taxis everywhere.
Where is the glider, the device with the very best aerodynamic properties? With Lange Research, we believe it is very useful to tackle the electrification of aviation from this very page. That is why the aircraft was developed, which is out here as E2. After all, it should have an electrically flown range of up to 6,000 kilometers. What is that good for? The E2 brings glider flying to the forefront in electrical aviation research. The electricity is generated on board with fuel cells that operate free of exhaust gases of any kind. The stream is reformed from methanol, CO2 being produced to the extent that it enters the fuel in the foreground, which can also be regenerative fuel. Nitrogen oxides and other climate-damaging gases, which we know from internal combustion engines and which are released in small but still existing quantities in turbines, are completely eliminated. This means that this aircraft can be operated without emissions in the overall system.
The E2 is a carrier for a wide variety of technical systems in complex sensor technology or telecommunications. Combined with its long range, it is therefore an exploratory aircraft, suitable also for use over the sea, to monitor the navigation, to explore environmental damage and much more. In disaster situations, a differentiated education can be carried out, up to the construction of a mobile communication network in remote areas.
The Antares E2 thus fulfills three functions: It promotes the development of electric aviation in the energy-saving and environmentally friendly place. It can make an important contribution to environmental protection and environmental education in its applications. And last but not least, she is an ambassador for what electric gliding can be in the future.
