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Old September 20th 10, 11:21 PM posted to rec.aviation.piloting
Mark
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Posts: 815
Default How high can you fly?

On Sep 20, 6:00*pm, wrote:
george wrote:
On Sep 21, 3:44*am, wrote:
george wrote:


I think the 'electric' powered aircraft is little more than a toy.
Seehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fWoLsJz8J5U


Compared to a real airplane, yes.


There may be some niche applications, like unmanned surveillance, where they
might be useful but they are terribly fragile.


And a range of 90 minutes....
That's barely enough to start a crosscountry.
If you want a fun machine that goes places cheaply
The Bantam B22 Microlight has a 4 hour range at 60+ knots.


I was referring to the unmanned research things that stay up for days, mostly
because they are little more than gliders covered with solar cells with an
electric motor.

Correct. Those are aeronautical physics experiments.

They are unmanned to set records in duration and elevation.
They also have the "electric advantage" of no oxygen requirement.

An LSA manned electric plane has the "no oxygen advantage" too.

LOL! And anybody can perform the FAA modifications on one.

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Mark




--
Jim Pennino