Ten-Engine
Electric Plane Prototype Takes Off
A team at NASA's Langley Research
Center is developing a concept of a battery-powered plane that has 10 engines
and can take off like a helicopter and fly efficiently like an aircraft. The
prototype, called Greased Lightning or GL-10, is currently in the design and
testing phase. The initial thought was to develop a 20-foot wingspan (6.1
meters) aircraft powered by hybrid diesel/electric engines, but the team
started with smaller versions for testing, built by rapid prototyping.
During a recent spring day the
engineers took the GL-10 to test its wings at a military base about two hours
away from NASA Langley. The remotely piloted plane has a 10-foot wingspan (3.05
meters), eight electric motors on the wings, two electric motors on the tail
and weighs a maximum of 62 pounds (28.1 kilograms) at take off. This photograph
captures the GL-10 prototype taking off in hover mode like a helicopter.
May 2, 2015 NASA
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