JohnDeRosa wrote, On 9/23/2013 9:23 AM:
Has anyone investigated the use of an oxygen generator rather than
carrying an O2 cylinder?

According to this study from sea level up to 18,000 it seems to work.
http://oai.dtic.mil/oai/oai?verb=get...er= ADA371747

"We conclude that from sea level to 18,000', molecular sieve based
O2 concentrators are capable of providing medical grade supplemental
O2 for at least 8 hours."

Pricey but for those the fly with O2 every day then over the long
term it would be cheaper as there would be no refills. Here is a
unit for $3K.
http://www.emedstores.com/xpo2-porta...extra-battery/

Might they be less dangerous in an accident? Is battery power an
issue?

Not a cost saver for glider pilots that fill their own bottles. I can
fill my 14 cf bottle for $5 from my welding bottle, then get 12 hours
off of it. It would take a lot of refills to pay for the $3000 unit.

I haven't heard of ox cylinders being a danger in glider accidents, so I
don't think the ox generator would help any.

I suspect it might not work well in flights where the cockpit
temperature goes below freezing, but did not look into it.

--
Eric Greenwell - Washington State, USA (change ".netto" to ".us" to
email me)
- "Transponders in Sailplanes - Feb/2010" also ADS-B, PCAS, Flarm
http://tinyurl.com/yb3xywl