72kg electric monoplane- mc30

[Litespeed]

another light weight- at 72kg this electric really shows the future of flight.

 

I am amazed.

 

 

 

[turboplanner]

What a pity people dub their music over the top of these things and destroy half the experience. I wonder what it sounded like.

 

 

[dazza 38]

I weigh 22 kg more that the empty aircraft.Looks like it would be a fun machine.

 

 

[HeadInTheClouds]

Hopefully when it comes time for me to buy my own aircraft electric power is starting to be the normal thing, it really is the future. Shame about battery technology currently though.

 

Wonder if a nuclear powered aircraft engine could ever work, I'm sure there would be people who would love not having to refuel for 1000 or so years

 

 

[Deskpilot]

What a pity people dub their music over the top of these things and destroy half the experience. I wonder what it sounded like.

Oh I so agree.

 

 

[fly_tornado]

electric planes are mostly just a bit of prop noise.

 

 

[turboplanner]

electric planes are mostly just a bit of prop noise.

Not some of the ones I've heard, they would replace the excitement of a high revving race engine.

 

 

[Gnarly Gnu]

Shame about battery technology currently though.

Perhaps you can do an in-flight recharge by flying through an electrical storm.

 

I agree BTW, if battery technology does a big jump these aircraft will be outstanding. Maybe Australia will have nuclear power by then too.

 

 

[HeadInTheClouds]

The only thing really holding back electric anything is batteries, their life, weight and speed to charge/reliability is the issue. In the future if someone were to invent a battery system which was lightweight, reliable in that monitoring the level of charge was accurate, and easy to be charged, in say an hour or two I think a lot more of everything would run on battery.

 

Reminds me of an ad I saw once:

 

 

 

[turboplanner]

Life, weight and speed to charge are all OK right now for fun flying out of a paddock or country strip.

 

The big issue is safety - there is no way to get out in time if thermal runaway occurs - that's what will hold sales back.

 

 

[Guest ozzie]

What a pity people dub their music over the top of these things and destroy half the experience. I wonder what it sounded like.

They sound like this...."whirrrrree"

My Lazair weighs in at 73kg empty, when it was an original series one it weighed 61kg. Not bad for a twin engine 38ft wingspan that was designed 30 years ago.

 

 

[Litespeed]

I have long had a interest in the whole electric flight stuff and have too many electric Rc. The technology fascinates and is now taking hold of our aviation future.

 

Sound wise, some electric systems sound like a screaming banshee other are very quiet. I think it has a lot to do with the prop and motor design, but some of the quiet ones really honk and are not converting a heap of energy into sound.

 

Battery tech is taking leaps and bounds in weight reduction, discharge rates, heat management and fast charging. Different chemistries such as Lithium oxide cells are now much cheaper and far more stable than previous versions, they can be charged quickly in 1 hour. Such cells are not generally prone to thermal runaway as earlier types could. With proper energy management and well designed systems, they should be quite safe.

 

But I do see where people might be concerned with a sudden eruption of choking smoke and fuel going thermal. In this very unlikely situation, for a well designed system, then a ejectable battery pod may resolve this.

 

Worth thinking about.

 

Phil

 

 

[HeadInTheClouds]

Electric motors aren't perfectly efficient though, but there is the potential to have superconductors used to transmit electricity in the engine meaning zero heat loss, however at the moment this would involve carrying around a tank of liquid nitrogen.... But the potential is there.

 

Hopefully one day a decent electric motor will be made that can be built to suit the purpose of conversions, for example there might be some made to substitute the 2-stroke engine in a Drifter or the like, or one that can be swapped straight into a Jab as a replacement engine. Can't wait for the day when it will cost less than $10 to power a light aircraft for an hour...

 

Solar is another story, future developments could mean that batteries could be charged enroute to extend range...

 

The future looks promising

 

 

[Litespeed]

Absolutely Electrifying

 

For something like the MC30 a charge would be a lot less than $10, maybe only $3. Thats damn cheap flying- naturally we need to add maintenance- which is very low and battery life. But still damn cheap in the long run.

 

I think in 5 years time we will see many conversion kits for current aircraft as the tech gets cheaper and more mature. The motors are becoming much more efficient as well but nowhere near a superconductor, such things will have to wait quite a few years. The main gains to be had are in battery design, battery management and the speed controller for the motor- naturally we are talking a 3 phase brushless motor. I feel with proper system intergration a electric can be highly efficient and make a good sport plane.

 

If a purpose built design for electric was made, it could take advantage of a battery pod that can be swapped quickly or jettisoned in a emergency- such as battery meltdown or fire, even to drop weight to increase glide. The pod could have a little chute for recovery if required. If all went to hell, it would be good to be able to get rid of a large amount of weight and fire risk- naturally C of G comes into play.

 

Such a rechargeable/swappable pod or even a unit flush with the airframe would overcome many a marketing deficit electric planes may have. and at the same time provide even more range and fast refuelling. The big issues for electrics taking a chunk of the market are range and time to refuel energy normally by charging. A pod could allow a fast turn around from landing to back airborne, a natural choice would be training schools or just local flyers wanting to get back in the air quick.

 

Just some thoughts.

 

Litespeed

 

 

[Guest ozzie]

Litespeed i think this set up is brilliant. The battery packs are mounted to circuit boards and are easily removable and are stored on the CoG in the wing. They are pretty much out of harms way both for the batteries and the pilot. A thermal blanket protects the upper and lower surfaces. They just swing down and remove in seconds. The wing mounting is great for the twin engine design giving very short cable run. The concept can easily be used in front of the firewall for single engine as well. I think as electric kicks in we will see many different concepts.

 

ozzie

 

 

[HeadInTheClouds]

Better electric motors would also make self-launching gliders much more viable. Have been looking into how much it costs to fly gliders recently and they seem to work out pretty darned cheap from a winch launch, however some places I have looked at that use self-launching gliders or motor gliders seem to charge close to or more than the cost of renting out an average RAA craft for an hour....

 

I'm sure an electric PPG motor would be popular as well, also something which I want to get into one day. I can imagine that having an electric motor strapped to your back would be far less noisy than a 2 stroke! Probably more reliable to turn off and on as well

 

 

[Guest ozzie]

Electric sail planes have been around for some time now the 'Silent' is one. I watch several operate when i was in Italy about 6 years ago. They are what started my interest in electric flight. As you only need 15 or so minutes of power to take you to your first thermal you don't have to carry huge amounts of batteries.

 

There are plenty of home made electric PPG's and Trikes flying in the US now. Yuneec have a ripper PPG it should have been on the market a couple of years ago, no reason has been given for the hold up.

 

The advantages of electric PPG over petrol is not only a huge increase in pilot comfort but also when it is folded up and placed in the back of your car there is no smelly fuel to stink it out. Girls are more inclined to go electric as they hate fiddeling with two strokes trying to tune them etc.

 

Ozzie

 

 

[turboplanner]

I find the same problem with girls Oz.

 

 

[Litespeed]

Ozzie,

 

I like that setup in the pic- what is it from?

 

It looks like the chargers are integrated below the cells, I assume the controller is next to the engine.

 

Thermal barriers are a definite plus for safety.

 

electrically yours

 

Phil

 

 

[Guest ozzie]

This is from Dale Kramer's E Lazair that was at AV this year, more photos here http://www.recreationalflying.com/useralbums/electric-lazair.31/view

 

There is also a photo of the charger set up there is one for each side.

 

The controller is mounted in a tunnel on the underside on the motor nacelles

 

if you are interested in how he did it here is the link http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1412424

 

but it will take 3 hours at least to read it all.

 

Ozzie

 

 

[Litespeed]

Thanks Ozzie,

 

Will have a read.

 

Phil