Littleboy wrote:

In article ,
says...

"Littleboy" wrote in message
anews.com...

In article ,
says...

"Mark James Boyd" wrote in message
news:405fd12c$1@darkstar...

LOL. I've never seen as much overengineering anywhere than
on RAS and in the government. Two winches? Does the wind shift
that often? How about one winch, right next to the existing
power lines (at least for the darned prototype)?

You guys crack me up with your "glider winch and power station
industrial complex" designs. If you're that rich, good
for you! ;P


http://www.glidingmagazine.com/Featu...cle.asp?id=293 covers just the
kind of thing you guys are re-inventing. By the way the unit cost them

56000

Euros and that was a year ago, at the time they considered it cheaper

than

the alternatives.

www.elektrostartwinde.de has details on commercial availability.

Some details
up to 20kw draw from the 3 phase mains supply
200kw launch power
850 kg max glider weight
1 g initial acceleration
Euro 1.90 per launch including cable, winch and battery replacements
Electronic motor control

There is a fixed multiple drum electric winch somewhere in Germany too.

Ian




Thanks for the link. A very nicely done installation, quite
professional.

I knew that my idea was not original enough for someone not to have
done it. It appears that one of the features liked most is the
electronic control of the motor. That was the point I was trying to
make. Modern electronic control of an electric motor just make so
much sense.

Some of the units I need conversions for especially a "daN", I know,
read assume, that it is a Newton but am unfamiliar with the prefix
"da"). There has been a big change in SI units since I was in college
and we insular Yankees haven't done a good job of keeping up.

Thanks again.

That confused me for a while too. daN = DecaNewton. 1 Newton x 10.

Do us a favor and price out the electronic controls.


Costs new, to contractor. Not the list price, but what I figure the
"street price" is. I could be off, but these are the figures I
personally would use for an engineering estimate.

1) VFD, Square D Altivar 66 drive, 460v, 100HP, well optioned $12,000
2) AC Motor, 460v, 100HP general purpose, totally enclosed $4,000
2a)AC Motor, 460v, 100HP inverter duty, totally enclosed $6,000



The DC motors used on the dragsters go for $1400
One such motor at http://www.go-ev.com/motors-warp.html


WW