NASA To Hold Competition For 100% Biofueled Aircraft

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration, more commonly known as NASA, has announced their Green Flight Challenge on July 31st which requires research teams to build an aircraft that can average at least 100 miles per hour based on a 200 mile trip. Additionally the aircraft have to be able to generate more than 200 passenger-miles per each gallon. 

The Green Flight Challenge is a joint venture for NASA and a nonprofit organisation which will offer a $1.5 million prize to the team that develops the most fuel efficient aircraft. This will include the 100 mile per gallon requirement and the 200 passenger-miles per gallon, which are calculated by dividing the number of passengers, including pilots into the fuel amount of the aircraft in miles per gallon. The challenge does not require the aircraft to have a specific number of passenger capacity, and aircraft can range from one pilot aboard to any number of passengers.

The $1.5 million prize will go to the engineers who can obtain the perfect combination of speed and efficiency. A $150,000 prize will go to engineers who develop an aircraft that can run on 99% biofuel while maintaining peak performance speeds. If no teams are capable of realizing the Green Flight Challenge’s specifications a consolation prize will be donated to the most capable team under the condition that it runs at least 80 miles per hour and 160 passengers per gallon. This prize will be set at $153,000.

Funds for the challenge will be provided via the NASA Innovative Partnerships Program, while the Comparative Aircraft Flight Efficiency Foundation will judge and coordinate the contest. 

Registration for the competition is currently open and will be open until 2010. The challenge will be in July 2011 in Santa Rosa, California.