vibster
05-30-2021, 12:16 PM
I'm thinking about one day building and flying an ultralight, and am enjoying the heck out of doing research. There's so many possible options, with various trade-offs!
One thing that caught my eye is that they're now shipping an electric variant of the Aerolite 103:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fa9jHrwQ-B4
It apparently meets part 103 weight requirements, but the endurance on the battery is roughly half that of the gas-powered versions. (Possibly worse, if you're doing a lot of climbs which eat up power.) Somebody locally here near Portland has also made an electric conversion of an Earthstar Soaring Gull with a motor and battery from a Zero motorcycle; hopefully I'll get a chance to see it in action some time. :)
The big benefit of an electric motor is that it's a LOT quieter than a 2-stroke gas engine. Both for pilot's comfort, and for being less likely to trigger complaints from people on the ground, that sounds good!
Since I wouldn't often venture far from my home airport, requiring a slow recharge or having a spare battery ready to swap out on the other end aren't going to be big problems. ;)
Has anybody built, used, or seen an electric ultralight? How do they seem to be working so far? Should we wait a few more years for battery tech to improve, or is it ready now!
Exciting time to be alive. ;)
One thing that caught my eye is that they're now shipping an electric variant of the Aerolite 103:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fa9jHrwQ-B4
It apparently meets part 103 weight requirements, but the endurance on the battery is roughly half that of the gas-powered versions. (Possibly worse, if you're doing a lot of climbs which eat up power.) Somebody locally here near Portland has also made an electric conversion of an Earthstar Soaring Gull with a motor and battery from a Zero motorcycle; hopefully I'll get a chance to see it in action some time. :)
The big benefit of an electric motor is that it's a LOT quieter than a 2-stroke gas engine. Both for pilot's comfort, and for being less likely to trigger complaints from people on the ground, that sounds good!
Since I wouldn't often venture far from my home airport, requiring a slow recharge or having a spare battery ready to swap out on the other end aren't going to be big problems. ;)
Has anybody built, used, or seen an electric ultralight? How do they seem to be working so far? Should we wait a few more years for battery tech to improve, or is it ready now!
Exciting time to be alive. ;)