MAKE: Blog: Fuel-cell flier

Fuel-cell flier

A fuel cell-powered remotely piloted aircraft buzzed quietly into the morning sky in a park near Van Nuys, Calif., August 25. The unorthodox flight was a triumph of collegiate innovation made possible by a nurturing program at California State University Los Angeles and a boost from NASA's Academic Investments Office and the Air Force Office of Scientific Research.

The college figures this is only the fourth public flight of a fuel cell-powered aircraft anywhere, and the first to use an improved type of fuel cell that greatly increases the power-to-weight ratio available for the aircraft. Fuel cells produce electrical energy in a conversion process that uses hydrogen and yields only water as a byproduct.

California Students Join Small Circle of Revolutionary Fuel-Cell Fliers - Link

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Comments

Oldest comments listed first.

Posted by: MadScott on November 13, 2007 at 9:00 PM

That was August 25, 2006.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C1VyUmdg4iA

Great footage here at the bottom of the page

http://www.calstatela.edu/centers/mfdclab/mfdclab.htm

Posted by: wonko.sane@gmail.com on November 14, 2007 at 9:47 AM

Very interesting mostly because of the power plant involved. Other than building a really big R/C flex wing aircraft to house the engine I wonder if there are any plans to extend the usefulness of the design? The NASA link dosen't give much information on the project or its long term objectives.

Posted by: wonko.sane@gmail.com on November 14, 2007 at 9:58 AM

More information and a nicer in flight video can be found here at the the MFDCLab site. I'd bet that this wing has the ability to glide quite some distance while it maintains a pretty slow stall speed.

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