First electric aerotow

[[email protected]]

See

http://www.military-technologies.net/2017/04/04/electric-motor-sets-two-speed-records/

[Dan Marotta]

That's very interesting! How does a hybrid electric aircraft work? Does
it use an internal combustion engine to drive a generator to charge
batteries to run the motor? It would be enlightening to see side by
side specifications.

On 4/4/2017 7:42 AM, wrote:
> See
>
> http://www.military-technologies.net/2017/04/04/electric-motor-sets-two-speed-records/

--
Dan, 5J

[Andrew Ainslie]

It's not hybrid, it's pure electric.

http://www.flyingmag.com/extra-unveils-electric-330le

https://arstechnica.com/cars/2016/12/this-extra-330-is-the-fastest-climbing-electric-powered-airplane-ever/

Amazing little plane!!

[Dan Marotta]

The hybrid was mentioned elsewhere in the original article. They were
talking about commercial service...

On 4/4/2017 2:40 PM, Andrew Ainslie wrote:
> It's not hybrid, it's pure electric.
>
> http://www.flyingmag.com/extra-unveils-electric-330le
>
> https://arstechnica.com/cars/2016/12/this-extra-330-is-the-fastest-climbing-electric-powered-airplane-ever/
>
> Amazing little plane!!

--
Dan, 5J

[jfitch]

On Tuesday, April 4, 2017 at 1:40:08 PM UTC-7, Andrew Ainslie wrote:
> It's not hybrid, it's pure electric.
>
> http://www.flyingmag.com/extra-unveils-electric-330le
>
> https://arstechnica.com/cars/2016/12/this-extra-330-is-the-fastest-climbing-electric-powered-airplane-ever/
>
> Amazing little plane!!

Power in an electric plane was solved long ago. It's duration that needs work - they mention having 15 minutes duration. That means it could aerotow maybe 6 gliders (and I wouldn't want to be the sixth...), then have to get recharged. No mention of the recharge time.

[AS]

On Tuesday, April 4, 2017 at 5:26:23 PM UTC-4, jfitch wrote:
> On Tuesday, April 4, 2017 at 1:40:08 PM UTC-7, Andrew Ainslie wrote:
> > It's not hybrid, it's pure electric.
> >
> > http://www.flyingmag.com/extra-unveils-electric-330le
> >
> > https://arstechnica.com/cars/2016/12/this-extra-330-is-the-fastest-climbing-electric-powered-airplane-ever/
> >
> > Amazing little plane!!
>
> Power in an electric plane was solved long ago. It's duration that needs work - they mention having 15 minutes duration. That means it could aerotow maybe 6 gliders (and I wouldn't want to be the sixth...), then have to get recharged. No mention of the recharge time.

In a previous life, I worked on AGVs (autonomous guided vehicles) which were powered by batteries. Instead of taking the vehicle out of service while recharging, we built a battery exchange station. The vehicle made the decision when it was time to go in for a new set based on remaining charge level and the task it had to finish. It would find the station, dock itself and within a few minutes, the old battery pack was replaced without human intervention. The vehicle then returned to its task.
If you want to make this plane economically viable as a tow plane and not have it sitting on the ground for any length of time to recharge, you must have a second or third set of batteries on the ground recharging and/or ready for a quick exchange.

Uli