With the price of oil rising faster than your eyes can blink, alternate ways of powering aircraft, ways that require much less fossil fuel, have become a must for flyers. And so here is the eco-friendly plane of the future that is trying its luck (read currently flight testing) by sporting a battery-powered electric engine. And the man behind the wings is Randall Fishman, the principal of Electraflyer, manufacturer of the Electraflyer Trike. Altering the Moni motorglider to suit this green engine, the main landing gear and tailwheel have been lengthened to raise the fuselage and enhance ground control. 90% efficiency is achieved by swapping the original two-stroke gasoline engine and propeller with an 18 hp DC electric motor. Of course along with a controller and regenerative drive attached to a composite, ground adjustable two-blade propeller.
Pilot can keep a track on the power consumption with the volts and amperes meters while the controller is managed by a throttle. The battery also charges back when the propeller is windmilling due to regenerative drive.
This green flying machine is powered by two custom lithium polymer 5.6 kilowatt battery packs that just weigh 78 lbs. And for safety reasons are surrounded by fire retardant materials. The highlight is the cost efficiency. For just 75 cents of electrical power, you can load your batteries full.
Via Kitplanes
