SANTA ROSA, Calif., Sept. 27 (UPI) -- Five teams from across the United States that built alternative-powered aircraft are competing for a $1.65 million prize in California, NASA says.
At this week's Green Flight Centennial Challenge at the Sonoma County Airport in Santa Rosa, the teams each hope to demonstrate their electric-, biofuel- and hybrid-powered small aircraft is the most fuel-efficient in the world, a NASA release said.
Competing for what NASA says is the largest aviation prize ever offered are: Team Feuling, Phoenix Air, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Pipistrel-USA and e-Genius, the aviation news Web site AVWeb.com said.
NASA and the Comparative Aircraft Flight Efficiency Foundation of Santa Rosa said competitors would tackle a fuel efficiency competition and a speed competition.
To win the fuel competition, an aircraft must fly 200 miles in less than 2 hours using less than one gallon of fuel per occupant or an equivalent amount of electricity.
The winning aircraft also must achieve an average speed of at least 100 mph over a 200-mile race circuit and deliver a decibel level below 78 dBA at full-power takeoff, organizers said.
Of the 13 teams that initially took on the challenge, five successfully completed aircraft and are competing for the big cash payoff, NASA said.
