Range extenders make any airplane to which they are attached a hybrid aircraft, with an engine-driven generator charging batteries or driving one or more electric motors that provide thrust. Speaking today at the 7th EASN International Conference on Innovation in European Aeronautics Research, Richard Glassock, a Fellow at the Institute of Aerospace Technology at the University of Nottingham, gave the range extender a completely new mission. His innovation comes in two versions, the RExLite and RExMoto. RExLite is a simple generator drive that mounts under the aircraft. RExMoto looks similar – a streamlined pod under the aircraft – but can be converted to a motorcycle when on the ground. Both “use conventionally-fueled combustion-engine-driven electrical generators to provide energy at peak efficiency and minimum emissions, effectively converting the All-Electric to a Hybrid Electric aircraft.” RExLite Range Extender RExLite manages to contain a 40 kilowatt (53.6 hp.) engine-generator in the 60 kilogram (132 pound – depending on fuel load) pod. According to …
