New Electric Ultralight/Light Sport

Hi I'm new . I'd like to share a few pic's of my 2019 Oshkosh Forum's and Demos project. Every year I do something different . This year I'll be doing Infusion as normal but I'll also be doing several other processes you can do at home , your hanger or shop. This little Bird will be given to EAA Chapter 280 after flight tests and other venues showings. She's an Electric twin engine pusher . Inspired by Cri Cri Electric version . To follow regular updates i'll be posting here and on my ACI "Advanced Composite Infusion" facebook page .

 

Enjoy , cheer's,

 

Russ

 

 

 

 

Nice looking design Russ.  Look forward to seeing more about it.

 

 

Why don't you keep the props in clean air?  More efficient , especially with minimum cowling behind and blows the wing at lower  speeds. and no rocks, mud  water thrown from the wheels  . Nev

 

 

...and you wouldn't need such a long ugly undercarriage!

 

 

Looks awesome. Great to see some more e-plane activity.

 

 

 What is the current RAAus policy regarding electric? Are they ahead of the game? Nev

 

 

 What is the current RAAus policy regarding electric? Are they ahead of the game? Nev

RAAus have no specific design requirements or support on electric drive. 

 

For hobbyist builders the CAOs are not designed around what people might like to do eg other than single seaters in 95.10 you cant have two or more engines and can’t have two or more props so you are limited to single large electric motor which tend to be quite expensive as they have been designed/built for aircraft and are low production runs.  

 

In fact the CAOs -not 95.10 - are not clear as they refer to engines ... and are for powered aircraft ... hate to think that an electric aircraft should be refused registration as it fails to be a powered aircraft as it does not have the required single engine to bring it within the CAO. 

 

But RAAus do appear to have registered alpha electrics over in WA so you can only hope they got clearance from CASA before doing that or there is a risk of registration being cancelled later - the bad old days of a RAAus.  

 

I can’t be arsed looking up the current aviation definition of engine vs motor to clarify this as I’m not considering electrics at this stage.  

 

 

...and you wouldn't need such a long ugly undercarriage!

Especially if the little wheel was in the right place.

 

 

Especially if the little wheel was in the right place.

But if you put the little wheel at the back it becomes very difficult to reduce the length of the main legs and provide adequate prop clearance at full main leg compression ... and if you do the sill height of the design with a bubble canopy would mean we need to genetically enginee very long legged pilots to get in or have a step of the side of the fuse to get in ... one little change has lots of design impacts

 

 

...and you wouldn't need such a long ugly undercarriage!

I do agree the gear doesn't need to be as long as they are and that is being looked at now. This project is being done as a 1 off for the purposes of educational Composites presentations and Demo's during my annual Oshkosh 4 day program  . There are numerous details not presented yet , one being how the canopy opens. We are looking at a good portion of the upper fuselage opening for ease of ingress egress . The project will demonstrate several processes and everything going into the build was selected for simplicity and ease of construction . The wing leading edges and all spar plugs are being made now. I'll have pics to update soon I'm traveling in Canada most of next week so the update will be after I return.. Thank you for your comment , I look forward to a fun and educational discussion .

 

Russ

 

 

Nice looking design Russ.  Look forward to seeing more about it.

Thank you ! I'm excited about the project and receiving a great deal of support for it. We are going to build as fast as possible and will have the project at Oshkosh 2019 where I'll discuss all materials and processes used and make parts during the 4 day event as well  . Once the plane has flown I intend to donate it to my EAA chapter 280 for their museum . Who knows what I'll do for 2020 ??????? I'm looking forward to a continued conversation supporting education and the safe use of Composites .

 

Russ

 

 

Looks awesome. Great to see some more e-plane activity.

Thanks , the concept was influenced by the Electric Cri Cri . We are having a great time thinking , talking about and building the Odyssey . If you are going to Oshkosh 2019 I would love to meet .