Elektra Solar Trainer Unveiled 

Dean Sigler Announcements, Batteries, Electric Aircraft Components, Electric Powerplants, Solar Power, Sustainable Aviation Leave a Comment

Elektra Solar introduced its Trainer, a new two-seat craft, at this year’s Aero Expo.  As reported here last year, the airplane features side-by-side seating to facilitate training, doubtless enhanced by the low noise level – 50 dB, according to the company.  Based on German ultralight standard LTF-UL 2020.  Compared to a “moderate rainfall noise,” the low sound level allows operation in noise protected areas and should enable easy communication between student and instructor. Safety and Performance With safety in mind, Calin Gologan, the plane’s designer, chose Geiger Engineering’s HPD50D dual motor.  Putting out 50 kilowatts continuously or 70 kW peak power, the 16 kilogram (37.3 pound) unit can run on either or both rotors.  Both independently controlled motors drive a …

A Boxy (Motor) Glider That Delivers

Dean Sigler Electric Aircraft Materials, Electric Powerplants, Sustainable Aviation Leave a Comment

Chip Yates used the same UQM motor on his record-breaking Pikes Peak and Bonneville Salt Flats motorcycle and his modified Long-Eze aircraft (Long-ESA for Electric Speed and Altitude).  He planned an ekectric trans-Atlantic flight using an audacious concept for mid-air recharging.  A bit quiet for the last several years, Chip has come up with a boxy glider, a load carrier that will, at some point, use the same kind of UQM motor with which he set so many records. The Silent Arrow GD-2000 Capable of hauling 907 kilograms (2,000 pounds) to front-line troops, or emergency supplies to otherwise inaccessible disaster zones, the GD-2000 Silent Arrow allows delivery of heavy cargo from a range of aircraft and helicopters. Yates Electrospace lists …