Electric Airplanes and Drones: A History

Attempts at electric powered flight date to well before the 19th century. Battery weight and low energy output made it impractical until the 1990s, when the advent of lightweight materials, more efficient solar power, improved engines and the Li-Po (lithium polymer) battery opened the skies to a wide variety of electric aircraft.

The author describes the diverse designs of modern electric flying machines--from tiny insect-styled drones to stratospheric airships--and explores developing trends, including flying cars and passenger airliners.

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Electric Airplanes and Drones: A History

Attempts at electric powered flight date to well before the 19th century. Battery weight and low energy output made it impractical until the 1990s, when the advent of lightweight materials, more efficient solar power, improved engines and the Li-Po (lithium polymer) battery opened the skies to a wide variety of electric aircraft.

The author describes the diverse designs of modern electric flying machines--from tiny insect-styled drones to stratospheric airships--and explores developing trends, including flying cars and passenger airliners.

49.95 In Stock
Electric Airplanes and Drones: A History

Electric Airplanes and Drones: A History

by Kevin Desmond
Electric Airplanes and Drones: A History

Electric Airplanes and Drones: A History

by Kevin Desmond

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$49.95 
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Overview

Attempts at electric powered flight date to well before the 19th century. Battery weight and low energy output made it impractical until the 1990s, when the advent of lightweight materials, more efficient solar power, improved engines and the Li-Po (lithium polymer) battery opened the skies to a wide variety of electric aircraft.

The author describes the diverse designs of modern electric flying machines--from tiny insect-styled drones to stratospheric airships--and explores developing trends, including flying cars and passenger airliners.


Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781476669618
Publisher: McFarland & Company, Incorporated Publishers
Publication date: 10/04/2018
Pages: 314
Product dimensions: 7.00(w) x 10.00(h) x 0.63(d)
Age Range: 18 Years

About the Author

Kevin Desmond, a technology historian and biographer, lives near Bordeaux in southern France. Since 1976, he has published 33 books and 300-plus articles on the men and women innovators, often forgotten, behind the progress of transport and related subjects.

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments
Foreword by Ivo Boscarol
Preface
One Origins
Two If It Flies, It Must Be Electric!
Three Electricity Goes to War
Four The Aeromodelers
Five “Here Comes the Sun”
Six The Lithium Advantage
Seven “H” Is for Hybrid, Hydrogen, Helium
Eight Towards Commercialization
Nine UAVs (Generation Gas)
Ten UAVs (aka Drones) Go Electric
Eleven Dronomania!
Twelve Flying Cars
Thirteen Into the Future
Appendix A. The Birth of Drone Racing
Appendix B. The Adventure of Solar Impulse
Appendix C. Speed and Altitude Records
Appendix D. Timeline of Notable Electric Aircraft Flights
Chapter Notes
Bibliography
Index
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