The plane to hydrogenhydrogen of ZeroAvia again in the news by posting a historic record, that of the very first flight of the largest airliner equipped with such an engine. With a carrying capacity of 19 passengers, theaéronefaéronef was able to complete a six-minute lap off the track. The flight took place on January 19 from ZeroAvia’s R&D facilities at Cotswold Airport in Gloucestershire, UK.
It is not yet the famous Celera 500L that Futura has already mentioned several times, but a 19-seater Dornier 228, modified for the occasion. Under its left wing is the prototype of ZeroAvia’s 600 kW hydrogen electric motor. It is the manufacturer’s largest engine that has ever been tested in flight. Under the right wing, for safety, is placed the original engine, a Honeywell TPE-331. the hydrogen enginehydrogen engine is powered by two fuel cellsfuel cells. Of the batteries lithium-ionbatteries lithium-ion guarantee full power for take-off and also serve as redundancy in the event of a failure. All of the power supply is inside the cabin. In the final version, this group will be outside the cabin.
For this maiden flight, the 600 kW hydrogen engine was located under the left wing. On the right, the original internal combustion engine is retained. © Twitter/ZeroAvia
Towards 90-seat hydrogen planes
This first real flight is part of the HyFlyer II project. Its objective is to develop a hydrogen engine to propel aircraft from 9 to 19 passengers. With this important step, an application for certification could be considered as early as this year. It must be said that this flight took place with the agreement of the British regulatory body (CAACAA) whose requirements went well beyond those of the usual flight tests.
This gives a good margin of evolution for the engine manufacturer, to the point that ZeroAvia is considering commercial certification by 2025. In the future, ZeroAvia also intends to design 2 to 5 MW engines capable of propelling airliners of 90 places over a radius of action of more than 1,100 km. To achieve these ends, the company is supported by industry players and airlines, such as United Airlines.
Ecological and energy-efficient, this revolutionary aircraft will switch to hydrogen
The Celera 500L manufacturer has partnered with ZeroAvia to develop a version of the aircraft with a hydrogen fuel cell powertrain. This aircraft will be able to carry 6 to 19 passengers over a distance of 1,852 kilometers initially.
Article by Sylvain Biget published on June 20, 2022
A suppository look with wings of gliderglider. With this odd and counter-intuitive design, the Celera 500L fromOtto Aviation would manage to reduce its drag by nearly 60%. The rounded shape of the cabin optimizes the flow laminarlaminari.e. the layers ofairair coming to slide along the fuselagefuselage. Thus, the layers of air mix less, which comes to attenuate the drag and consume lessenergyenergy.
With such an asset, its efficiency is formidable and it would cost five to seven times less to operate than a business jet, with an 80% reduction in fuel consumption. And again, for the moment, the aircraft, which is only at the prototype stage, is powered by a combustioncombustion of 500 horsepower, with which he has already carried out 55 test flights. It should prove to be much more economical in the future by switching to hydrogen. It is in any case, the next development of the Celera 500L, since Otto Aviation is associated with ZeroAvia for this purpose. The partners consider that with this hydrogen fuel cell, the device should be able to have a range of 1,852 kilometers at first.
With its particular shape, the Celera 500L is immediately suitable for carrying hydrogen. © Otto Aviation
A more virtuous business aviation
In theory, the aircraft could carry up to six passengers over a distance of 8,335 kilometers at a vitessevitesse top cruising speed of around 740 km/h. Proof of its effectiveness, despite its overweight, its shape and its wings give it an impressive finesse. It can thus travel up to 200 kilometers in wild oxwild ox, engine cut from cruising altitude. The manufacturer estimates that it could offer a model that can accommodate up to 19 passengers, but this would be the maximum, due to the proportions of the aircraft. For the moment, on the 55 successful test flights the Celera 500L has been able to operate at speeds greater than 400 km/h and a maximum altitude of 5,000 meters. In any case, that it retain its propulsion at fossil fuelsfossil fuelsor switch to hydrogen, the aircraft will drastically reduce the bilan carbonebilan carbone private business aviation.
This funny experimental plane could revolutionize tourist transport
Capable of carrying six passengers over more than 8,300 kilometres, the Celera 500L can reduce its emissionsemissions of carbon compared to an equivalent business jet, due to its particular shape.
Article of Louis NephewLouis Nephewpublished on
With its look of dirigibledirigible with a slender look and an equivocal name, the Celery 500L looks like something out of a science fiction movie or a comic book Black et Mortimer. And yet, it is not an artistic view, but a real prototype having already carried out 31 test flights. Designed by Otto Aviation, the Celera 500L promises exceptional performance and efficiency.
The aircraft is powered by a V12 Diesel engine delivering 500 hp, which is rare for a passenger plane. This engine is found on a few aircraft, including the Yak-52 and an aircraft ofspreadingspreading. With it, the single-engine will be able to reach a maximum cruising speed exceeding 724 km/h. Its autonomy will be around 8,330 kilometers. According to the aircraft manufacturer, the fuel economy would be eight times greater than that of an equivalent business jet.
Optimize laminar flow
To reduce its carbon footprint and increase its efficiency, the Celera 500L has been able to optimize the flow of air flows around the cabin, the wings and theempennageempennage. Optimizing the airflow on the fuselage consists in improving its laminar flow. In the case of the Celera 500L, the aerodynamics allow the air to slide as slowly as possible over the surface and prevent the different layers of air from mixing and creating drag. This strange elongated ovoid shape, combined with long, thin and narrow wings, reduces drag by up to 59% and therefore considerably improves portanceportance. In the end, the plane emits 80% less carbon than an equivalent business jet.
The Celera 500L is capable of carrying six passengers in a 1.85 meter high cabin and is expected to enter service in 2025, after certification from US authorities scheduled for 2023.
