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Old January 19th 18, 12:45 AM posted to rec.aviation.soaring
AS
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Default Electric Towplane sets a new climb record

On Thursday, January 18, 2018 at 9:25:57 AM UTC-5, Eric Greenwell wrote:
wrote on 1/17/2018 9:53 AM:
I wonder if one of these Sun Flyer trainers might work out? I like the engine of the 4 seater and the wing area of the 2 seater.
http://sunflyer.com/specifications/

I estimate they would have nearly the same climb rate with a 1000 lb sailplane, so
the much lower cost of the two seater would make it more attractive to most
operations. A "towplane version" might have a bigger battery pack for extra
duration without recharging, since it wouldn't need to carry baggage while towing.

And it ought to be easy to find towpilots - very zoomy, trike gear and no worries
about shock cooling the cylinders!

--
Eric Greenwell - Washington State, USA (change ".netto" to ".us" to email me)
- "A Guide to Self-Launching Sailplane Operation"
https://sites.google.com/site/motorg...ad-the-guide-1
- "Transponders in Sailplanes - Dec 2014a" also ADS-B, PCAS, Flarm

http://soaringsafety.org/prevention/...anes-2014A.pdf


Could one recover some of the energy by using the motor as a generator on the way down - akin to regenerative braking on hybrid cars?
Uli
'AS'