From Ultralight Sailplanes to a Miniatur-Wunderland

Dean Sigler Electric Powerplants, Sustainable Aviation Leave a Comment

Your editor has several friends who lay claim to the appellation, “ferroequinologist,” (student of the iron horse), meaning they fancy miniature trains and the layouts that support them.  One friend helped construct a layout that takes up most of a good-sized building in Portland, Oregon – but even he would be dumbfounded by the massive installation in Hamburg, Germany – which includes an international airport in its midst that accounts for 180 takeoffs and landings per day and handles 1.2 million “passengers” per year. Blogmeister Klaus Burkhard oversees a wonderful web site based primarily on ultralight sailplanes.  His writings have alerted your editor to the twin-motor self-launching ultralight Holliday Obrecht and his compatriots are building at EAA Chapter 309 in Charlotte, North Carolina; Snow White, an electrically-powered flying wing inspired by the Horton Brothers, and produced an expansive entry on the Volocopter that included detailed photographs and specifications. A recent entry on Hamburg’s Miniatur-Wunderland told of the remarkable airport that …

A Two-motor Electric German Ultralight – Made in the USA

Dean Sigler Electric Powerplants, Sustainable Aviation 2 Comments

If you are young enough and in good physical condition, dragging a 100-pound ultralight airplane to the top of a hill and hopping off allows an incredibly low operating cost for a very green aviation experience.  As one gets older, this kind of flight is still attractive, but some form of landing gear or training wheels, and quite often, some form of motive power, become necessary. The German ULF-1 has been around for several years, prompting several builders to put their own distinct look on the vintage-looking sailplane.   In fact, over 40 of the microlift-capable craft have been built from plans supplied by designer Dieter Reich.  ULF-1 is a highly capable vehicle, with the longest flight so far lasting six hours and the furthest distance flown around 140 kilometers (87 miles).  The original was constructed by Heiner Neumann, and each example built since has incorporated the usual homebuilder’s touches to each new version. This Russian link gives a view of …