I just came across this in the EV Tradin Post: Electric Nanolight Trike ... the listing says "Now that electric is a hot topic in ultralights" which I'm finding rather surprising, as aircraft probably don't do well with a heavy battery pack. I expect that if the ultralight people are hot for electric, it must be with lithium batteries of some kind, right?
Category: Electric Vehicles For Sale - Other Electric Vehicles For Sale
Title: Electric Nanolight Trike
Your Name: Jonathan Barraclough
Location: Tehachapi, CA
Price: $1000 OBO
Description: Now that electric is a hot topic in ultralights, thought I'd post my electric nanolight trike for sale. I spent about $1200 in machninist work getting a PMG132 mounted to the trike frame properly. I never had a wing for it, but I did run it up on the ground a number of times with a (too big) Powerfin prop. Very smooth! I've been trying for the last 2 years to raise money for a wing, light battery pack and a smaller prop (or reduction with larger prop) while the trike was stored in my garage. I lost my job earlier this summer so I've been trying to sell all the parts separately without luck to pay off other debts. I've already sold the motor, controller, and PB5 throttle, but the trike is ready to bolt on those items you could buy separately. This is what you'd get. A new trike frame with foot throttle, front brake and folding mast, plus a platform for batteries behind the seat (this whole setup cost me $1500 by the time I was done). Frame was made by Northern Lite Air in Alaska. Frame has all professionally machined mounts for a PMG132 motor, Alltrax 7234 controller and PB5 throttle. Also comes with the propeller mounting plate/shaft adapter (fits a standard Powerfin hub; all this cost $1200 in machinist fees). With this setup you'd be up and running quickly, getting to the business of testing battery packs, props and reduction drives. All that's missing for a flying vehicle is a wing, hang block for the wing, a propeller, and a suitable battery pack. I have many pictures, so contact me to see more.
I did some yahoogling ("ultralight electric aircraft") and found a few articles. It's hard to find information on this, even that search phrase returns lots of false hits. Anyway, I've posted the results on 7gen.com: Electric Ultralight Aircraft, Electric Aircraft, and Electric Ultralight Aircraft
Electra Flyer - is a paraglider that's electrically powered, and you can see the alltrax controller right there.
Sonex Aircraft, LLC and AeroConversions Unveil E-Flight Initiative for Sport Aircraft Alternative Energy Research & Development and AeroConversaions E-Flight Initiative home page ... this is an initiative by one of the leading ultralight aircraft makers to design and build electrically powered craft. The video is a walkthrough, and it's clear they are using the same kind of Li-ION cells that the Tesla Roadster is using.
- David Herron, http://davidherron.com/
- David Herron, The Long Tail Pipe, davidherron.com, 7gen.com, What is Reiki
I've been denied your links! :(
Electric Ultralight Aircraft: "There are currently no posts in this category."
Electric Aircraft: "There are currently no posts in this category."
Electric Ultralight Aircraft: "There are currently no posts in this category."
Electra Flyer: "Access denied You are not authorized to access this page."
Others: "Access denied You are not authorized to access this page."
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<a href="http://www.BaseStationZero.com">[img]http://visforvoltage.org/files/u419...
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It's visible now. I had to rebuild the permissions on that site. I never check the site while logged out, so thank you for letting me know.
- David Herron, http://davidherron.com/
- David Herron, The Long Tail Pipe, davidherron.com, 7gen.com, What is Reiki
If you can find this months (Feb. 2008) copy of Hang Gliding Magazine, there is a story of a guy who built a 5600 WH Lithium-Polymer powered trike-type ultralight. (Hang glider with 3-wheel, powered carraige w/seat). He is getting at least 1 1/2 hours of flight time from a charge - more if there are usable thermals to use to gain altitude power-off.
The initial design uses a direct-drive prop spinning at about 3000 RPM. While quieter than a IC engine trike, it was still a bit noisy. He then rigged a reduction gear and a low speed 1600 RPM prop. This increased thrust to 155 pounds while making it much quieter.
His web site is here:
http://www.electraflyer.com/
Oops,
I see David found the site already. I was thrown off by it being called a paraglider.