On Thursday, May 16, 2013 12:41:44 AM UTC+9:30, Eric Greenwell wrote:
Wallace Berry wrote, On 5/15/2013 6:18 AM:

In article ,

Eric Greenwell wrote:



small fuel cell.



I've wondered if a gas-electric hybrid would be practical. A gas motor

powerful enough to supply half the energy of a 2000' climb at 500 fpm

would be about 20 hp, a fair sized motor. So again, maybe the solution

is a big enough Li battery to do the whole 2000', then use 4 hp motor to

recharge the battery over the next 30 minutes or so.



Apparently there was a gas-electric hybrid glider at the AERO

Friedrichshafen show, or at least a poster about one. SoaringCafe has

pictures from the show. One pic is of a diagram of an Albastar 18m

glider with internal gasoline engine driving a generator linked to a FES.



I like the idea of starting the motor before you have to commit to using

it. There is a glider with an enclosed, internal gasoline engine - the

Stemme - but it can't be started independently of propeller operation,

and the drive shaft is a difficult technical problem requiring the side

by side seating. The Albastar has a substantial engine of 65 hp, and the

use of using a generator/electric motor for power transmission to the

propeller gives it a lot of flexibility in design the Stemme did not have.



--

Eric Greenwell - Washington State, USA (change ".netto" to ".us" to

email me)

- "Transponders in Sailplanes - Feb/2010" also ADS-B, PCAS, Flarm

http://tinyurl.com/yb3xywl
The original LS8-t did just that - engine could be started before the prop extended.