AEROINNOVATIONS
Chinese Enter
Flying Car Race
INTENDED FOR CROWDED CITIES of the future, the YEE
flying car concept design comes from a group of Chinese
industrial design students at the South China University
of Technology (SCUT). In driving mode the YEE’s wings
fold downward, with small wheels along their outside
edge acting as outriggers, allowing the vehicle to carve
into turns. The two rimmed back wheels of the YEE
swing forward and become the propeller blades when it
transforms into flight mode.
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AEROINNOVATIONS highlights developments that have potential to impact the future of aviation. EAA does not necessarily endorse the ideas, products, services, or views stated.
EQP2 EXCURSION
ELECTRIC AMPHIBIAN
AIRCRAFT
QUADROTOR RC
HELICOPTER
ELECTRIC
ANTI-ICING SYSTEM
WHISPER MODE
FOR HELICOPTERS
THE EQUATOR P2 EXCURSION
from Equator Aircraft of
Norway is a concept two-seat
electric amphibian aircraft
designed to carry 620 pounds
of useful load and achieve
altitudes up to 13,500 feet with
a maximum speed of 220 knots,
all on a “concept electronic
power source.” Equator Aircraft
has built a 1-to- 4 scale model
for testing and plans to have a
flying prototype by 2013.
DAVID MELLINGER IS PUSHING
the limits of aircraft control
movement with his autonomous
quadmotor radio-controlled
helicopter. The helicopter
is capable of flying through
windows with less than a
3-inch clearance, performing
flips, and making precise start
and stop movements due to a
20-camera system and on-board
inertial measurement unit that
allows the craft to follow pre-
programmed routes.
THE KELLY AEROSPACE
Therma Wing aircraft de-icing system uses electrically
conductive strips on the
leading edges of the wings and
horizontal stabilizer to provide
heat on those surfaces. De-icing or preventing icing with
Therma Wing systems avoids
the weight of a weeping-wing
system and has less drag than
pneumatic de-ice boots. The
system requires installation of a
second alternator to power it.
QUIETER, MORE EFFICIENT
HELICOPTERS is the goal of a
NASA program that uses the
world’s largest wind tunnel, a
particle image velocimetry, and
high-speed video. Researchers
at the Ames Research Center
in Moffett Field, California,
mounted a rotor from a
Sikorsky UH- 60 Black Hawk
helicopter to a custom fuselage
to study the airflow over
the rotor blades and their
characteristics during flight.
