Transport: Planes, Trains, Boats, Autos, and Rockets

[Azrael]

Solar-powered aircraft designed to be flown by pilot non-stop around the World.

[Azrael]

Wuppertaler Schwebebahn

[Typhoon]

Wuppertaler Schwebebahn

I can remember when monorails and similar designs were going to solve all our city congestion problems.



Osaka Monorail



Chiba Monorail

[Azrael]

But the Wuppertaler Schwebebahn is no fad. It's been around for 110 years.

[Azrael]

I flew on one of these back in the 1990s. Exciting. Too exciting for some of the Cuban passengers.

[Hans Bulvai]

Uh oh...
Not good.

http://news.yahoo.com/boeing-787-boston ... nance.html

Two Boeing 787 incidents raise concerns about jet

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Boeing Co's new 787 Dreamliner suffered its second mishap in two days at the same airport with the same airline, extending a series of problems that have dogged the jet for more than a month and notched up concern about the plane.

A fuel leak on Tuesday forced a 787 operated by Japan Airlines to cancel takeoff at Boston's Logan International Airport. On Monday, an electrical fire erupted in a different 787 also operated by Japan Airlines at the Boston airport.

No passengers or crew were injured, but both incidents brought out firefighters, and the National Transportation Safety Board on Tuesday bulked up the team investigating the fire.

The incidents were stark reminders of a string of teething problems that have hit the Dreamliner since July, prompting federal regulators to call for engine and fuel line inspections, among other measures.
...

The fire on Monday occurred on a different 787 plane that had just arrived from Tokyo and whose 183 passengers and crew had departed.

The NTSB said Tuesday that a battery in the auxiliary power unit aboard the plane jet had suffered "severe fire damage" and that surrounding damage was limited to components and structures within about 20 inches. It said the power unit was operating when the fire was discovered.

The agency sent one investigator to the scene on Monday and added two more on Tuesday. The FAA, Boeing, the Japan Transport Safety Board and Japan Airlines are also investigating.

The NTSB said Tuesday's fuel leak would not warrant an investigation because there was no accident.

Boeing said it is cooperating with the investigations and it would be premature to discuss details since the fire probe is continuing.

[Typhoon]

Jalopnik | Ten myths about cars

[Typhoon]

US FAA grounds Boeing 787 over battery concerns

The use of new battery technology is among the cost-saving features of the 787, which Boeing says burns 20 percent less fuel than rival jetliners using older technology.

Lithium-ion batteries can catch fire if they are overcharged and, once alight, they are difficult to put out as the chemicals produce oxygen, Boeing's chief engineer for the 787, Mike Sinnett, told reporters last week. He said lithium-ion was not the only battery choice, but "it was the right choice".

In the latest incident, All Nippon Airways Co Ltd said instruments aboard a domestic flight indicated a battery error, triggering emergency warnings. The incident was described by a transport ministry official as "highly serious" - language used in international safety circles as indicating there could have been an accident.

That led ANA and Japan Airlines Co Ltd to ground their 24 Dreamliners pending checks. Japanese transportation officials said they could not immediately comment on the FAA decision, as did a spokesman for JAL. An ANA spokeswoman said the FAA's order meant the airline could not use its 787s on its U.S. routes.

A problem, however, it will be resolved.

[Hans Bulvai]

A problem like this should have been caught.

i bet if you go back to the test reports, something about this would surface. Tha manufacturer promises a fix but with a rush to production, corners are cut.
In a plane that is the first to rely heavily on electricty, the batteries should be the last thing to fail.

[Azrael]

Any time a new commercial aircraft is introduced there are hick-ups. I wouldn't read too much in to it. It's not like the plane crashed.

[Azrael]

New tire technology

2wAvxQfusWU

Supposedly it can never get a flat. It seems too good to be true. There must be a catch . . . but what?

Keeping it clean may be an issue . . .

[Azrael]

"FAG" must mean something different in German . . .

[Azrael]

First hybrid to win 24 Hours of Le-Mans race.

The R18 e-tron quattro is a hybrid version of the R18 ultra, utilizing a Williams Hybrid Power designed flywheel accumulator system for energy storage.

[noddy]

http://pal-v.com/

woot, another flying car.

The PAL-V ONE is a two seat hybrid car and gyroplane: a personal air and land vehicle. What makes the PAL-V ONE attractive is the convenience of fully integrated door-to-door transportation.

On the ground this slim, aerodynamic, 3-wheeled vehicle has the comfort of a car with the agility of a motorcycle thanks to its patented, cutting-edge, ‘tilting’ system. It can be driven to the nearest airfield and take off just like any other airplane. The single rotor and propeller are unfolded to make the PAL-V ONE ready to fly.

When airborne, the PAL-V usually flies below 4,000 feet (1,200 m), the airspace available for uncontrolled Visual Flight Rules (VFR) traffic; so there will be no interference from commercial air traffic. Furthermore, the PAL-V is powered by a very robust, flight certified aircraft engine. It runs on gasoline. It can reach speeds of up to 180 km/h (112 mph) both on land and in the air.

The PAL-V ONE has a very short take off and landing capability, making it possible to land practically anywhere. When not using controlled airspace, you can take off without filing a flight plan. Flying a PAL-V is like a standard gyrocopter. It is quieter than helicopters due to the slower rotation of the main rotor. It takes off and lands with low speed, cannot stall, and is very easy to control. The gyroplane technology means that it can be steered and landed safely even if the engine fails, because the rotor keeps auto rotating.

[Enki]

I doubt we'll get flying cars until the automated highways take over. I cannot imagine people being allowed to fly their own cars.

[Typhoon]

First hybrid to win 24 Hours of Le-Mans race.

The R18 e-tron quattro is a hybrid version of the R18 ultra, utilizing a Williams Hybrid Power designed flywheel accumulator system for energy storage.

A good idea that's been a long time in coming to fruition:

Pop Sci 1970

[Typhoon]

[Azrael]

First hybrid to win 24 Hours of Le-Mans race.

The R18 e-tron quattro is a hybrid version of the R18 ultra, utilizing a Williams Hybrid Power designed flywheel accumulator system for energy storage.

A good idea that's been a long time in coming to fruition:

Pop Sci 1970

Williams flywheels have also been fitted in buses.

The investment in fuel saving technology pays off faster for a large vehicle, since large vehicles use more fuel than personal vehicles.

[Azrael]

Turbine-electric hybrid powertrain for large vehicles.


Is this a large restaurant-grade garbage disposal? No, it's a turbine engine.

Route technology here

Does this make sense? Turbine engines don't tend to be particularly efficient at low speeds. The only other land vehicles I know of with turbine engines were some locomotives in the 1950s, which were a failure due to high fuel consumption, and the Abrams tank, which has a number of problems: high maintenance load, high fuel consumption (leading to a high logistical cost) and high heat, leading to high vulnerability to heat-seeking missiles and no ability for infantry to follow closely behind tank for protection.

In my limited understanding, turbines and efficiency only go together with combined cycle, which is rather heavy (mainly used for stationary power generation).


GE H series Gas Turbine

[Typhoon]

[Design credit | Michal Bonikowski]

[Typhoon]

ST | Boeing 787’s problems blamed on outsourcing, lack of oversight

Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner has suffered numerous electrical system flaws beyond the battery problems that led to its current grounding, according to engineers with knowledge of the situation.

Company engineers blame the 787’s outsourced supply chain, saying that poor quality components are coming from subcontractors that have operated largely out of Boeing’s view.

“The risk to the company is not this battery, even though this is really bad right now,” said one 787 electrical engineer, who asked not to be identified. “The real problem is the power panels.”

Unlike earlier Boeing jets, he said, the innards of the 787 power distribution panels — which control the flow of electricity to the plane’s many systems — are “like Radio Shack,” with parts that are “cheap, plastic and prone to failure.”

CuAUE58MQt4

[Typhoon]

Xyd3vPSiv6s

Economist | Flights of fancy - Unmanned gliders

[Typhoon]

Jalopnik | Volkswagen's Crazy Awesome 261 MPG Car

[Typhoon]

"FAG" must mean something different in German . . .

FAG is the German company that founded the metal ball bearing industry.

[Typhoon]

Gizmag | Self-balancing 1967 Gyro-X car to be restored