On Monday, April 13, 2020 at 9:37:18 AM UTC-7, Duster wrote:
Any opinions on the Taurus Electro? Side-by-side, pylon, self-launch, trailer option for solar array charging, etc. They claim the profile of the cockpit/fuselage acts like a lifting body.

There are 4 Electro's in the USA and about a dozen Rotax powered. I've flown a Rotax-powered one for about 10 years, but only have a few flights in an Electro. It flies like an older generation, lightly loaded 15 meter ship.. Lots of fun soaring, but not for unhandicapped competition or records.

The company's objective in designing the electric version was to have it achieve the same performance, at the same price, as the gas powered. I understand that the electric will climb slightly faster (bigger prop, IIRC), and the price probably isn't that much more than the Rotax version. I think the empty weight is similar, though the batteries consume a lot of space.

But the run time, like all of the electrics, is the big difference. I think Pipistrel used to advertise 6,000' of climb on a charge, though that was a while back and they probably have better numbers today. (The Rotax powered version has a max fuel capacity of something like 14 gallons (with dual tanks). I have only the single tank configuration, but have never had "range anxiety" with probably over an hour of run time, should it be needed. (Typical flight has 5-7 minutes for initial launch and another 5-10 minutes of run time if I need a relight, and I would guess that the Electros have a similar profile.))

The solar trailer for the Electro is quite cool. You can park at an unelectrified gliderport, and the sun charges the battery array in the trailer. Then you hook-up your Taurus overnight and recharge the on-board batteries. Rinse and repeat.

Pipistrel has a big lead over others in actual, in-the-field application and improvements vs. projected and theoretical systems. If they elected to market their systems in a higher-performance sailplane I think they would have a superior product.