Prototypes
The Russian manufacturer Tupolev built a prototype hydrogen-powered version of the Tu-154 airliner, named the Tu-155, which made its first flight in 1989. This was the first experimental aircraft in the world operating on liquid hydrogen.
Boeing Research & Technology Europe (BR&TE) made a civilian aircraft from a 2-seat Diamond Aircraft Industries DA20 motor glider running on a fuel cell (called Theator Airplane)". Lange Aviation GmbH also made a hydrogen-powered airplane with its Antares DLR-H2 airplane. These aircraft are of course configured in such fashion that the current low energy output from hydrogen propulsion (a result of the low-pressure hydrogen tanks) do not pose a problem. For example the Boeing Theator airplane only required 45 kW to take off, and 20 kW to stay airborne. In July 2010 Boeing also unveiled its hydrogen powered Phantom Eye UAV, that uses two Ford Motor Company internal combustion engines converted to operate on hydrogen.
ENFICA-FC demonstrated its Rapid 200-FC aircraft in 2010.
In 2011, an AeroVironment Global Observer which was fitted with a hydrogen-fueled propulsion system.
Read more about this topic: Hydrogen-powered Aircraft
Famous quotes containing the word prototypes:
“As our domestic fowls are said to have their original in the wild pheasant of India, so our domestic thoughts have their prototypes in the thoughts of her philosophers.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)