Sunseeker Duo

Surprising lack of conversation on the revolutionary Sunseker Duo, cover
story of August Soaring. 22 meter two-place glider, covered with solar
cells, able to cruise all day long above the clouds on just solar.
George Bye would be proud.

At 470 kg max gross weight, not a lead sled like some of the other
current products, but lets two svelte people power across the Alps with
ease. Just eat salad.

15 kw motor in the tail delivers a massive 20 hp to get this baby in the
air, then 3 kw of solar cells take over for cruising at 3-5 km all day
long, while also recharging the batteries in flight. Glide ratio of
38:1 delivers LS-4 type performance, albeit at slightly lower speeds.

Read all about it at:

https://www.solar-flight.com/sunseeker-duo/

On 8/24/20 8:08 AM, kinsell wrote:

then 3 kw of solar cells take over for cruising at 3-5 km all day

Meant to say 5 kw. 3 kw might not be enough.

A lot of the conversation about electric gliders and airplanes are about how they will never work. Hard to say that about the Duo-Sunseeker. So no conversation.
Eric has been doing some amazing things for years and the Sunseeker is just one more thing well ahead of it's time.
Steve
My last 2000+ hours in hang gliders was in harnesses make by Eric Raymond.

On Monday, August 24, 2020 at 7:08:57 AM UTC-7, kinsell wrote:
Surprising lack of conversation on the revolutionary Sunseker Duo, cover
story of August Soaring. 22 meter two-place glider, covered with solar
cells, able to cruise all day long above the clouds on just solar.
George Bye would be proud.

At 470 kg max gross weight, not a lead sled like some of the other
current products, but lets two svelte people power across the Alps with
ease. Just eat salad.

15 kw motor in the tail delivers a massive 20 hp to get this baby in the
air, then 3 kw of solar cells take over for cruising at 3-5 km all day
long, while also recharging the batteries in flight. Glide ratio of
38:1 delivers LS-4 type performance, albeit at slightly lower speeds.

Read all about it at:

https://www.solar-flight.com/sunseeker-duo/

I was honored to fly with Eric Raymond as my host in the Sunseeker Duo. It was probably the climax of my activity as a sailplane journalist.
Low speeds, lots of fun, very efficient aircraft, handbuilt from the drawing board to all the systems, and yet extremely advanced.

Love,
Aldo Cernezzi
www.voloavela.it

I first met Eric in 1979 when he was regularly kicking ass in national hang gliding competitions. Over the years, his inspiring photography was regularly featured in magazines. His innovative and well built hang gliding harnesses were the choice of many top notch competition pilots. And me. (Not to be confused with aforesaid top notch competition pilots.) In 1990, he flew his Sunseeker I solar powered sailplane from California to North Carolina on an epic summer expedition. Since then, he has relentlessly pursued designing and building practical solar powered aircraft, while avoiding the hype and overblown claims of other proponents. Best of luck to him and Irena!

I wouldn't mind finding some of those ultra thin flexible solar panels...

On 8/27/2020 7:17 AM, wrote:
I first met Eric in 1979 when he was regularly kicking ass in national hang gliding competitions. Over the years, his inspiring photography was regularly featured in magazines. His innovative and well built hang gliding harnesses were the choice of many top notch competition pilots. And me. (Not to be confused with aforesaid top notch competition pilots.) In 1990, he flew his Sunseeker I solar powered sailplane from California to North Carolina on an epic summer expedition. Since then, he has relentlessly pursued designing and building practical solar powered aircraft, while avoiding the hype and overblown claims of other proponents. Best of luck to him and Irena!

--
Dan, 5J

Here's one source I'm aware of:


https://www.airbatt.de/AIRBATT-Solar...les-Solarmodul

Schleicher still ships panels shaped for engine bay doors, they look
like the obsolete Strobl panels, don't know what their source is.




On 8/27/20 2:42 PM, Dan Marotta wrote:
I wouldn't mind finding some of those ultra thin flexible solar panels...

Here is another module for charging. $38
https://www.jameco.com/z/MPT15-150-P...mA_228110.html

On 8/31/20 3:25 PM, Soartech wrote:
Here is another module for charging. $38
https://www.jameco.com/z/MPT15-150-P...mA_228110.html



"These modules do not have a UV-stabilized surface." Sounds like solar
cells that shouldn't be exposed to the sun.