Today at the World Electric Aircraft Symposium at EAA’s AirVenture, Erik Lindbergh, founder of LEAP, named PC-Aero as the 2011 AirVenture winner of the Lindbergh Prize for Electric Aircraft.
This year LEAP chose to focus on a different aspect of electric aircraft propulsion than past Lindbergh Prizes by awarding a Vision Award, officials said. The award focuses on innovation with a “vision” for integrated electric power for an aircraft and its supporting infrastructure. Having a complete plan for energy management is the key to widespread adoption of electric propulsion, officials add.
PC-Aero is the winner of the Lindbergh Prize for Electric Aircraft Vision Award for its integration of Solar World’s solar technology into its Electra One aircraft and the supporting hangar. The vision is for the energy from the rooftop solar cells to not only provide power to the aircraft, but also the hangar itself and excess energy to feed back to the power grid.
“This is an electrifying time,” said Erik Lindbergh. “Visionaries are taking risks. The field is alive with novel approaches and rich in activity and experimentation. With continued intellectual and financial investments, great opportunity exists for technological advancements that could apply well beyond electric aircraft.”
Past winners of the Lindbergh Prize for Electric Aircraft include:
- Pipistrel: 2011 Aero-Friedrichshafen Best Electric Aircraft
- LZ Design: 2011 Aero-Friedrichshafen Best Electric Propulsion System
- Solar Impulse: 2011 Aero-Friedrichshafen Outstanding Achievement Award
- Yuneec International: 2010 AirVenture Best Electric Aircraft
- Sonex: 2010 AirVenture Best Electric Aircraft Subsystem
- Lange Aviation: 2010 AirVenture Individual Achievement Award
