Hydrogen powered Airplane tested
A US company has claimed that it has tested what can be considered as the first airplane ever to be powered by environment friendly liquid hydrogen fuel. The technology works by combining the Liquid hydrogen stored on board and oxygen extracted from the air to generate electricity something similar to what is done in fuel cells.
The company that managed to achieve this feat is California-based AeroVironment who now claims that a full tank of hydrogen would keep the unmanned plane in the air for 24 hours. The aim is to find an alternative for aviation fuel to minimize air pollution due to normal airplanes.
AeroVironment called their test plane Global Observer and it looked more like a glider than a conventionally powered plane. It had a wingspan of over 15m; small fuselage slung underneath and extended, “dragon-fly” tail. AeroVironment’s Director of Washington Operations Alex Hill spoke to a media group and said: “We’re carrying liquid hydrogen on board at very low temperatures. So the insulation on the tank is crucial.”
He added: “These flights were a proving ground, first of all to ensure we could handle the liquid hydrogen – we had lots of tests of that on the ground. Then we wanted to fly the technology, but we didn’t fuel the plane all the way up – if we had done, we could have flown for about 24 hours. But as it is, we had two flights of just over an hour each.”
A second test flight of this craft is scheduled for June 2.
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