Electrically Powered Ultralight Aircraft

Morgans wrote:
wrote

Unless the added weight is enough to deform the tires, the increase
in rolling resistance in the total energy expediture can't be found.

Bull hockey.

Just because it is not noticeable, or measurable by the lack of sensitivity
with the instrument you are currently not using, does not mean that it does
not exist.

More weight on the bearings will cause more rolling resistance. That is
fact, not open to dispute. If you say it is, I want to buy the rights to
the bearings you are using, so I can patent them and make a fortune.

If a bird craps on your windshield, it is more likely to noticeably
influence your aerodynamic drag than rolling resistance.....I took Jim's
"can't be found" to mean lost in the noise. According to SAE studies,
aerodynamic drag accounts for 60% of the resistance that must be
overcome for highway cruise, with tires being 25% and driveline friction
making up the last 15%.

I suspect an electric motor and associated batteries however, are going
to deform the tires. The power companies that I work with are doing
studies on a number of electric vehicles. I have been told that they
run some interesting tires and pressures.

Charles