If You Have to Ask…

Dean Sigler Electric Powerplants, Sustainable Aviation 1 Comment

Binder Flugmotoren- & Flugzeugbau is a German firm specializing in high-end single and two-seat motorized sailplanes which offer outstanding performance.  Their EB29d Elektro is a two-seater with winning lines and ways – as evidenced by their recent victories in European and American soaring contests. A self-launcher more intended for climbing and soaring than cross-country touring under power, the airplane shares some characteristics of operation and design with Lange’s Antares and Arcus series and some ASH models.  The motor extends and retracts on a long stalk, for instance, and the batteries for power are contained in the wings. Binder’s EB28 and EB29 segelflugzeuge come in 25.3 meter (82.98 feet), 28.3 meter (92.82 feet), and 29.3 meter (96.10 feet) spans, easily reduced or extended with a set of exchangeable wingtips.  Binder’s claim that “Now you can choose the optimum wing span for every weather, in order to fly at the front of the competition or to enjoy great pleasure of flight. This concept …

The Electric Archaeopteryx

Dean Sigler Electric Powerplants, Sustainable Aviation 1 Comment

Ruppert Composite has been flying the up-market Archaeopteryx for the last several years, with pilots hopping off hills in the highly efficient, advanced hang glider. Archaeopteryx is versatile, as shown in the video, and can be launched and retrieved in a variety of ways. Its 54 kilogram empty weight makes quite a load for even a fit enthusiast, though, and waiting around for a tow car or plane dampens even the most ardent longing to fly. To counter those objections Ruppert has designed a special electric drive. Working with Dr. Martin Hepperle, a well-known aerodynamicist specializing in model aircraft and low-Reynolds number flight; Leomotion, manufacturer of model airplane electric motors – some with internal planetary propeller speed reduction systems; and Flytec, maker of an electric motor found on hang gliders, electric paramotors and ultralight aircraft around the world, Ruppert will introduce the e-Archaeopteryx with “ascent aid” in early 2013. This is a cleaner installation than that chronicled a few months …

Going Vintage Electrically

Dean Sigler Electric Powerplants, Sustainable Aviation 5 Comments

On December 21, 2011, Samy Dupland test flew Electravia’s latest adaptation of its electric power systems.  The Electrolight 2, a Fauconnet A60 on which Electravia head Anne Lavrand and Dupland mounted their 26 hp motor and power pack, is a French version of the Scheibe L-Spatz (Sparrow) standard class sailplane. With a 5.55 kilowatt hour lithium polymer battery pack, the electric microlight glider can stay up for one hour, 45 minutes or gain up to 3,000 meters (9,842 feet).  Its cruising speed is between 100 kilometers per hour (62 miles per hour) and 150 km/h (93 mph), with its range doubtless dropping at higher speeds.  Its maximum weight is 315 kilograms (693 pounds) with a recovery parachute, right at the limit for French ultralight rules.  Electravia sells the complete system of electric propulsion (motors, controller, batteries, instruments, propeller), and provides integration of the system into light sailplanes like the Fauconnet. Several vintage sailplanes could be easily adapted to such a system. …