ORIENS - sustainable flight

ORIENS (lat. sunrise) is a motorglider concept.
A plane with reinvented lifecycle based on the cradle to cradle principle. It combines an ecological energy concept and sustainable materials, with an organic design language and bionic inspired details.

Interior Design

The whole concept consequently follows a transparent design language, to reach an intensive flight feeling. To be associated more with a paraglider or a hang-glider and reach an intensive flight experience.
The transparency also offers the opportunity to design components and explore formal solutions for parts that are normally covered.

Levels of Significance

To clearly organize all the visible components of the plane, similar elements are positioned at the same height, building layers of significance.
Level 1: landing gear
Level 2: navigation elements (control stick, pedals, instrument panel)
Level 3: the two engines
Level 4: wings and tail

Design Lines

To maintain a harmonious appearance between the interior and exterior design, the landing gear and the seats are sharing the same characteristic line, extending from one component into the other.

Seats as Connecting Surface

The seats are officiating as connecting surface between the established significance layers. Starting with the landing gear in the front, there are 3 connection points between the seat surface and the fuselage and one extensive connection point with the wings.

The seats are also providing additional stiffness to the body and are creating a stable connection between the wings and the fuselage.

Dynamic Pattern Transition

The white side pattern of the seats is decreasing towards the feet and the head, providing a more dynamic overall perception. Also the pattern is suggesting significance and stability in the area where the body mainly touches the seat.



Material

Cradle to Cradle and Design for Disassembly:

The entire plane is ?designed-for-disassembly? a design philosophy based on the ?cradle to cradle? principle, which makes designers think of how their products can be disassembled and reused.
By these principle there are 2 choices to select a safe material:
1. Biological Materials, made from natural fibers, that biodegrade safely and restore soil.
2. Technical Materials, made from synthetics that can be repeatedly depolymerized and repolymerized and are providing high quality for generation after generation of synthetic products.

The materials have been chosen keeping this in consideration.

Canopy made of Polycarbonate

The transparent canopy is made of Makrolon. It can be repeatedly depolymerized and repolymerized, maintaining his properties generation after generation.

Seats made of Natural Fibres

The seats can be woven out of regional available natural fibers, to avoid energy inefficient long distance transportation and support the local craftsman.
Possible material choices: hemp, flax or bamboo fibers.

Wings, Fuselage, Seat Sides, etc. made of Flax-Biocompound

The wings, fuselage, etc. are produced from a biocompound, consisting of flax with a linseed-oil-acrylate as matrix.
The material has properties similar to fiberglass, but is burning CO2 neutral, because of its biological raw materials.

Solar Panel with Aluminium-Base

The solar panel has an aluminium base, that can be melt down and reused.



Exterior Design


Form Language

The whole concept consequently follows a transparent design language, to reach an intensive flight feeling. To be associated more with a paraglider or a hang-glider and reach an intensive flight experience. The transparency offers the opportunity to design components and explore formal solutions for parts that are normally covered.

Light Weight Y-Tail

The Y-Tail is providing the same functionality as a normal T-Shaped tail, but with a weight advantage. The Y-Tail uses only two elements.

The weight reduction was the decisive factor for this decision, as it is supporting the requirements of the whole concept.

Bionic Elements

To improve the aerodynamic properties, also scientific discoveries form the field of bionics, have been taken in consideration. Besides the streamline body form, also the loop winglets, at the end of the wings, are contributing to the high energy efficiency of the concept.


Energyefficiency

Ecological Energy Use

The package has been ecological optimized, so it uses renewable energy sources to power the electric motor.
Solar panels on the wings and the body deliver the required energy to power the motor. Besides that, the gliding ability permits an environmental friendly zero emission flight.

The motorglider has 3 possibilities:

1. Gliding - flying without additional energy
The Plane has the possibility to glide, using only the winds. As a result it is flying CO2 neutral, without additional energy consumption.

2. Solarenergy flight - the needed energy is provided by the sun
The wings and the tail are covered with flexible solar panels and also the canopy is coated with recently developed transparent solar cells.

3. Hybridpower flight - flying in combination with fossil energy
The electric motor uses normally the energy provided by the solar panels, but when the solar cells aren?t able to cover the demanded energy, the fuel engine automatically turns on and produces the needed electricity using a generator.


Technical Background

Electro Motor with Propeller

The direct current motor has a performance of 50 kW and weights only 28 kg.
Advantages: lower maintenance, lighter, smaller, and quieter than fuel engines.

Fuel Engine and Generator

For safety reasons a fuel engine is included and ready to deliver the additional required energy, if the solar panels aren?t able cover the demanded energy.

Instrument Panel

The most dominant element of the panel is a monitor, which can display different important information. There are also 3 round displays, which permanently show the most important flight parameters.

Collapsible Propeller

The propeller is directly attached to the electrical motor and is collapsible.
The collapsible propeller has the big advantage, that it doesn?t cause turbulences during gliding, when the plane flies without motor power.

As soon as the motor starts, the covering is moving forward and is providing enough space for the rotating propeller.

During the motor runs, the propeller is kept open due to the centrifugal force. As soon as the motor stops, the propeller collapses automatically and the covering is closing.