Electrically Powered Ultralight Aircraft

On Wed, 8 Aug 2007 10:48:40 -0500, "Gig 601XL Builder"
wrDOTgiaconaATsuddenlink.net wrote in
:

Larry Dighera wrote:
On Wed, 8 Aug 2007 08:12:37 -0500, "Gig 601XL Builder"
wrDOTgiaconaATsuddenlink.net wrote in
:

They obviously don't make a 100HP motor of the type you showed or
you would have quoted it's specs.


Take a look at the ~75 HP electric motor installed in the Sonex Waiex:
http://www.sonexaircraft.com/news/im...irventure07/e-
flight_5947.jpg

Exclusive of the two black boxes, the Sonex motor sure doesn't appear
to weigh any where near the 1,118 lbs motor you found. My guess would
be under 100 lbs. It is custom built for/by Sonex, so I'm not able to
quote its specifications.

You don't really believe Sonex is using an electric motor that weighs
any where near 1,118 lbs, do you. The entire empty weight of the
Waiex is only ~620 lbs with a gross weight of 1150 lbs.

Of course I don't. But they might as well be at this point becuse the
electric motor they have has never been off the ground.

The motor was apparently designed by Bob Boucher. He also designed
the motors Dr. Paul MacCready used to fly across the English channel
solely under power from the sun, and other successful AeroVironment
electrically powered aircraft commissioned by NASA. If anyone can
design a proper electric motor for aviation, Mr. Boucher should be
able to; he has the past successes to prove it.

I wish the Sonex guys well and will praise the hell out of them if they do
what they are trying to do. But, as I said in a earlier post, I just don't
see this big of a technological leap coming from a company whose last major
enginnering feat was converting a VW engine for aircraft.

If and when it happens it will be either a bunch of guys from MIT or Cal
Tech or as the offshoot of a much more profitable electric motor project.


Perhaps.