"Übermorgenmacher": Tribute to five e-Genius key team members
The state of Baden-Württemberg honours leading engineers of our team for their new concepts for innovative and ecological flying.
The distinction took place in the government department for science, research and arts on the 25 July 2012. The trophies have been handed over by Minister Theresia Bauer. In her honorific speech she expressed:
"The competition aircraft e-Genius is probably the most modern electric aircraft at present, unmatched by the competitors concerning speed, energy consumption and noise exposure. Today, we not only honour the idea, but rather the sensational performance of the team around Professor Voit-Nitschmann."
All in all, there have been 500 applicants for the prize. The jury honoured 60 persons, it is remarkable that five of them are from our team! Please click on this link to see the official "Übermorgenmacher" website.
Here you can find a short overview of our awardees:
 Professor Rudolf Voit-Nitschmann is the leader of the e-Genius project since 2005. He guided the development with his experience and knowledge by starting with the concept study of the Hydrogenius, a hydrogen fuel cell powered two-seated aircraft. With help of the new knowledge of this study he guided the realization of the e-Genius.
You will find many details of its history and performance in the homepage category "Aircraft".
 Dipl.-Ing. Len Schumann developed the basic concept of the Hydrogenius in his diploma thesis in 2005. As the chief manager for the airframe and aerodynamics of the e-Genius he was significantly involved in the today´s appearence of the e-Genius. Today, he is one of the two deputy managers of the project and coordinates the further development of the aircraft.
 Dipl.-Ing. Steffen Geinitz was the chief engineer of the propulsion system for both Hydrogenius and e-Genius. Since the development concentrated on the e-Genius, he realized its propulsion system consisting of four rechargeable lithium-ion batteries. Their capacity is bigger than any ever been installed in a car.
 Dipl.-Ing. Karl Käser was the lead manufacturing engineer of the e-Genius during its "hot" building phase from 2010 to 2011, when the e-Genius had its maiden flight. The e-Genius team started the manufacturing of almost all aircraft components only nine months before!
Dipl.-Ing. Karl Käser has its own engineering office  and worked as external employee for our project.
 Dipl.-Ing. Clemens Gerlach attended to the e-system support. He took part at the development and construction of the battery system as well as the integration and initiation of the propulsion system. Furthermore, he developed and integrated additional monitoring systems.
Dipl-Ing. Clemens Gerlach works for the SFL GmbH and worked as external employee for our project.
GREEN FLIGHT CHALLENGE 2011
e-Genius succeeds in CAFE`s Green Flight Challenge (GFC) as the quietest airplane in the world. The e-Genius team has won both prizes for the quietest aircraft and second in the overall standings.
The e-Genius team proudly announces its successful performance at the Green Flight Challenge 2011, taking place at the Sonoma County Airport, Santa Rosa, California.
Based on the competition flights, the e-Genius team gets the second place in the overall standings of the GFC, detained by NASA. A total number of 13 teams attempted to participate in the final competition of the GFC, but only three were successful. It was a close fight for the first place between the Slovenian Team from Pipistrel and the Institute for Aircraft Design from the University of Stuttgart. The used energy was not counted by plane, but per passenger. In presenting an unusual four seat-prototype with two fuselages, Pipistrel tipped the scales. The third team Phoenix had no chance against the electric motorization due to its combustion engine.
During the GFC itself and its exposition at Moffett Field, CA, the e-Genius performed eleven flights, six more than the other aircrafts and seven more than required. The total flight time exceeds eight hours. Until now, seven pilots had flown the e-Genius. In contrast to the winner's plane which had been exclusively flown by highly experienced test pilots, replacing the two passengers by concrete, the e-Genius demonstrates to be suitable for everyday use.
The e-Genius team also won the Lindbergh Electric Aircraft Prize (LEAP), presented by Erik Lindbergh, the grandson of Charles Lindbergh. This prize characterizes the quietest aircraft of the competition, in this case the e-Genius with a take-off noise of about 60 dB. This is equivalent to a TV with normal volume at a distance of one meter!
We are very proud that our aircraft was able to fullfill all GFC requirements with outstanding performance and is anyway suitable for every day use. In the future we might know if e-Genius is the prototype for powerful electrical flight. In the result list releasd by the CAFE Foundation you can see the amazing effectiveness of our aircraft.
GFC Results
The e-Genius team is very happy about this successful result. We want to thank all the sponsores and supporters for their help making the e-Genius project possible and that successful.
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Universität Stuttgart
