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Old June 1st 06, 05:46 PM posted to rec.aviation.soaring
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Default Antares 18S Maiden Flight

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.

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Eric Greenwell - Washington State, USA

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