Antares 18S Maiden Flight

Hi All - I just received the following press release from Lange
Fleugzeugbau:

Maiden flight ANTARES 18S

The first ANTARES 18S made its successful maiden flight Sunday May
28th, 2006. The youngest member of the ANTARES-family of sailplanes
then was put to the acid test during several test flights at the home
airport of Lange Flugzeugbau in Zweibrücken (Germany). In its first
few flights, the sailplane clearly exceeded the development team's
expectations of gentle and nimble handling, and the test pilots decided
to start flutter and spin testing the same day.

The first flights of the ANTARES 18S have also shown that the
aerodynamic design, aiming for outstanding glide performance especially
at middle and high speeds, has yielded the expected results without
compromising on pilots comfort. The remaining flight testing will be
performed rapidly in the next months.

Unlike her larger sister, the self launching electrical glider ANTARES
20E, the ANTARES 18S has been designed as a pure glider for the
18m-class and can be retrofitted or ordered as a self sustainer, the
ANTARES 18T.


This glider is on its way to Sweden to fly in WGC, where everyone hopes
it will stop raining some day...

Best Regards, Dave

wrote:
Unlike her larger sister, the self launching electrical glider ANTARES
20E, the ANTARES 18S has been designed as a pure glider for the
18m-class and can be retrofitted or ordered as a self sustainer, the
ANTARES 18T.

Would that be one of those stinky old technology internal combustion
sustainers, or a clean quiet smooth electric sustainer?

The 18T sustainer would be the sinky kind.
For clean quite smooth electric go for the 20E !
See ya, Dave

Marc Ramsey wrote:
wrote:
Unlike her larger sister, the self launching electrical glider ANTARES
20E, the ANTARES 18S has been designed as a pure glider for the
18m-class and can be retrofitted or ordered as a self sustainer, the
ANTARES 18T.

Would that be one of those stinky old technology internal combustion
sustainers, or a clean quiet smooth electric sustainer?

wrote:
The 18T sustainer would be the sinky kind.
For clean quite smooth electric go for the 20E !
See ya, Dave

Marc Ramsey wrote:
wrote:
Unlike her larger sister, the self launching electrical glider ANTARES
20E, the ANTARES 18S has been designed as a pure glider for the
18m-class and can be retrofitted or ordered as a self sustainer, the
ANTARES 18T.
Would that be one of those stinky old technology internal combustion
sustainers, or a clean quiet smooth electric sustainer?

I think an electric sustainer would be delightful. It'd be heavier than
a two-stroke system, but cleaner, quieter, and more reliable. It could
sit unused for months without affecting it's reliability.

The batteries would be small enough, it might be practical to recharge
in the trailer with, say, a couple 80 watt solar panels (about $1000 worth).


--
Change "netto" to "net" to email me directly

Eric Greenwell - Washington State, USA

www.motorglider.org - Download "A Guide to Self-launching Sailplane
Operation"

wrote:
The 18T sustainer would be the sinky kind.

They're all kinda sinky after you extend them.
Note to Self: Buy lotto ticket.
;-)

Shawn

schrieb:

The 18T sustainer would be the sinky kind.



And the reason for that is given he
http://www.lange-flugzeugbau.de/engl...u/menu-akt.htm

The engine could be smaller but the battery pack almost the same size
as for the 20E would make it a *very* heavy 18m glider.

Regards
Marcel Duenner

MaD wrote:
schrieb:

The 18T sustainer would be the sinky kind.



And the reason for that is given he
http://www.lange-flugzeugbau.de/engl...u/menu-akt.htm

The engine could be smaller but the battery pack almost the same size
as for the 20E would make it a *very* heavy 18m glider.

From the Antares site:

"Building a self-sustainer utilizing electrical propulsion is currently
not possible, because in order to achieve the range required for a
self-sustaining glider, the size of the battery-pack would have to be
comparable to the pack installed in the Antares 20E. This is contrary to
the basic idea behind a self sustaining glider, which is to provide a
very economical way of staying aloft."

I think it is odd they accepted the range limitations of an electric
system for the 20E, which has about 1/3 the powered range my ASH 26 E,
but weren't willing to accept a similar range limitation for a
sustainer. I suggest a sustainer that could climb 3000' on it's battery
would be enough for a majority of pilots, and this would allow a
significantly smaller battery to be used.

--
Change "netto" to "net" to email me directly

Eric Greenwell - Washington State, USA

www.motorglider.org - Download "A Guide to Self-launching Sailplane
Operation"

Hi Eric,

Good point. I agree. I think they are missing the boat by going to a gas
engine. It is so contrary to the clean, quiet, simple to operate, reliable
system in the Antares 20E.

I wish I could afford one!

Good Soaring,
--
Paul Remde
Cumulus Soaring, Inc.
http://www.cumulus-soaring.com

"Eric Greenwell" wrote in message
...
MaD wrote:
schrieb:

The 18T sustainer would be the sinky kind.



And the reason for that is given he
http://www.lange-flugzeugbau.de/engl...u/menu-akt.htm

The engine could be smaller but the battery pack almost the same size
as for the 20E would make it a *very* heavy 18m glider.

From the Antares site:

"Building a self-sustainer utilizing electrical propulsion is currently
not possible, because in order to achieve the range required for a
self-sustaining glider, the size of the battery-pack would have to be
comparable to the pack installed in the Antares 20E. This is contrary to
the basic idea behind a self sustaining glider, which is to provide a very
economical way of staying aloft."

I think it is odd they accepted the range limitations of an electric
system for the 20E, which has about 1/3 the powered range my ASH 26 E, but
weren't willing to accept a similar range limitation for a sustainer. I
suggest a sustainer that could climb 3000' on it's battery would be enough
for a majority of pilots, and this would allow a significantly smaller
battery to be used.

--
Change "netto" to "net" to email me directly

Eric Greenwell - Washington State, USA

www.motorglider.org - Download "A Guide to Self-launching Sailplane
Operation"

"Eric Greenwell" wrote in message
...
MaD wrote:
schrieb:

The 18T sustainer would be the sinky kind.



And the reason for that is given he
http://www.lange-flugzeugbau.de/engl...u/menu-akt.htm

The engine could be smaller but the battery pack almost the same size
as for the 20E would make it a *very* heavy 18m glider.

From the Antares site:

"Building a self-sustainer utilizing electrical propulsion is currently
not possible, because in order to achieve the range required for a
self-sustaining glider, the size of the battery-pack would have to be
comparable to the pack installed in the Antares 20E. This is contrary to
the basic idea behind a self sustaining glider, which is to provide a very
economical way of staying aloft."

I think it is odd they accepted the range limitations of an electric
system for the 20E, which has about 1/3 the powered range my ASH 26 E, but
weren't willing to accept a similar range limitation for a sustainer. I
suggest a sustainer that could climb 3000' on it's battery would be enough
for a majority of pilots, and this would allow a significantly smaller
battery to be used.

--
Change "netto" to "net" to email me directly

Eric Greenwell - Washington State, USA

www.motorglider.org - Download "A Guide to Self-launching Sailplane
Operation"

Of course, a possible future alternative is a micro jet turbine. Roughly
speaking, the typical glider's 30 gallon ballast tanks, if converted to hold
Jet A, would give three hours at 120 knots. That would most likely get the
pilot to a comfortable landing spot in time for a steak and beer. I've done
the "back-of-envelope" nembers for my Nimbus 2C and they say it would do 120
knots for 7.5 hours with flameout near 18,000 feet.

Neither quiet nor green but effective.

Bill Daniels

Eric Greenwell schrieb:


I think it is odd they accepted the range limitations of an electric
system for the 20E, which has about 1/3 the powered range my ASH 26 E,
but weren't willing to accept a similar range limitation for a
sustainer. I suggest a sustainer that could climb 3000' on it's battery
would be enough for a majority of pilots, and this would allow a
significantly smaller battery to be used.

--

Yes, then the battery could be 1/3rd of the 20E-size. But:
No, I don't think 3000' would be widely accepted. That would only give
you an extra 60km range, so basically only good enough if you missed
the last thermal on your way home over flat country. In the Alps, with
two or three mountains between you and home: no good.

Marcel