Aerospace Minute by David

On 28 October, David talked about an electric airplane that EADS demonstrated at the Paris Airshow. EADs is the parent company of Airbus. The aircraft as dual ducted fans, 31ft wingspan, and weighs 1212 lbs. It can fly 1 hour at 110 mph, and carries two people in a tandem seating configuration. The interesting thing about the airplane is that it is fully aerobatic. It can fly for approximately 30 minutes when flying aerobatics. Although not yet a practical form of transportation, electric aircraft such as this are becoming more capable.

Presentation: October 2013

This month's AE presenter: Jeff
Date of presentation: 21-Oct-2013
Subject: Unleaded avgas - Ramifications for General Aviation
Description: This presentation was about the proposed elimination of lead compounds from avgas (aviation fuel), and what the ramifications of that would be for all of General Aviation (GA).  Jeff talked about proposed changes that would require unleaded fuel to become available, who would be affected by these changes and how, and what companies are working on "drop-in" replacements for 100LL and where their products stand in the development cycle.  A spirited discussion ensued and it seems that everyone learned something, which is of course the goal.

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Reid-Hillview Airport Day

David Hartman participated in the Reid-Hillview Airport Day on 19-October-2013.  Squadron 80 put N9483E on display and set up a booth. David assisted with giving people tours of the aircraft and letting kids sit in the left seat. This provided an opportunity to discuss the three missions of CAP with the parents. It gave a chance to show both kids and adults how the controls work and explain what makes an airplane fly. The show was a success, there was always a line, and many people went away with a new appreciation for aviation. Not only was this a chance to promote the mission of CAP, but allowed us to teach the general public about general aviation.

Bonus Aerospace Minute by Jeff

Also on 30-September, Jeff brought up the recent findings made by the Mars rover Curiosity and its mission regarding the discovery of significant quantities of water in the Martian soil.  These findings indicate that the soil consists of up to 2% water, which works out to roughly a quart of water in each cubic foot of soil.  This would make the extraction of enough water to meet the needs of future Martian explorers possible, providing a huge advantage over shipping enough water from Earth to meet those needs.

Interestingly, the water contained in the Martian soil is rich in deuterium, a so-called "heavy" hydrogen isotope with an extra neutron in its nucleus as compared to protium, the predominant isotope.  The percentage of deuterium in the soil is roughly the same as the percentage of deuterium in the Martian atmosphere, implying that the soil is absorbing the water directly from the air.

One source among many: a space.com article.