A CX300 over the mountains of Vermont in a June flight test. Credit: BETA Technologies
Three electric aircraft will compete in Springfield, Ohio, on Oct. 12 for a title that was last officially awarded 100 years ago.
In 1925, groups like the Aero Club of America formed to promote airplanes and show the public that aviation was the way of the future. For several years, they used races, including the Pulitzer Trophy Race, as one method to achieve that. Now, the club’s successor, the National Aeronautics Association, wants to give electric designs the same treatment.
Simply providing more public displays of electric aircraft is one goal of the event, race director and NAA volunteer Scott Neumann told me. He is a former U.S. Air Force test pilot and the president of the Astronautics Records Commission for IAF, the Federation Aéronautique Internationale.
“Even today, there are not a lot of people who have actually seen an electric aircraft fly,” Neumann said. “The traveling public has to be willing to buy a seat on an electric aircraft, and they may look and sound very different than the airplanes we are used to.”
To organize the race, NAA teamed up with the Advanced Air Mobility Institute, a Boston nonprofit, and the National AAM Center of Excellence in Springfield. The race precedes the National Advanced Air Mobility Industry Forum, which will be held in Springfield on Oct. 14 and 15.
Neumann said another goal of the race is to illustrate to the public that electric airplanes are a safe and reliable means of travel.
“People will see the planes racing and get close to them to understand the technology,” he said. “And we’re trying to do it early enough in the technology development curve to help make a difference. Airplanes in the original Pulitzer races started flying at around 150 mph [240 kph], but by the last race they were going almost 250 mph [400 kph]. We hope to see similar improvement in the technology over years.”
The original trophy is an art deco sculpture in sterling silver that is permanently on display at the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C. But the revived races will award medallions cast in gold, silver and bronze, modeled after similar awards from the 1920s. The race course will also emulate the 20th century events with a 60-nautical-mile (111-km) closed-circuit triangular pattern, staggered by heats to determine the fastest cumulative flight time, according to organizers.
As of this writing, three aircraft will compete for these prizes: an Alia CX300, the conventional takeoff and landing design of Vermont-based BETA Technologies, and two Velis Electros built by Slovenia-based Pipistrel. BETA will supply a pilot for its plane. The two Pipistrels, provided by Lincoln Park Aviation, an aircraft dealer in New Jersey, will be piloted by U.S. Air Force cadets from the nearby Wright-Patterson Air Force Base.
Other companies plan to display aircraft at the race grounds at Springfield-Beckley Municipal Airport, Neumann said.
The race will serve as a vivid demonstration to the public how quiet electric aircraft are, said Gloria Bouillon, the institute’s community integration ambassador.
“Noise is not usually a big concern at race events; people expect it. But here, when the race aircraft come in, we want to have a louder chase aircraft come in after, for comparison,” Bouillon said. “We’ll also take surveys about noise and other issues.”
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