2/28/2010

FLY in the future with an electric self-launch sailplane






source:http://www.glider-one.si/

FLY in the future with an electric self-launch sailplane Electro Apis EA1

ELECTRIC APIS EA1 is one of the first sailplanes in the world and the first one in Slovenia EU (the first flight was 18. April 2005), which can take off with an electromotor and climb up to altitude 1800m at 50%DOD, even to altitude 3000m at 90%DOD. The altitude depends on the percentage of the discharging of the Li-Poly batteries. The best recomended discharging of the batteries is about 50%DOD. In this case the altitude is app 1800m and the batteries can give 1500 cycles http://kokam.com/english/product/kokam_Lipo_01.html

In the future solar cells on the wings will give enough nature energy for many take offs next day and to climb much over than 3000 metresof the altitude.

Have a look:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pt8ISQC7aVY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ydFo67O3dmw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jPGeDAZHxMo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fm3mliPyeeM


Electric sailplanes... the future?
Will they pollute less?
Is this kind of energy better?

8 comments:

  1. Paloma Blanco3/4/10, 8:35 PM

    In my case, I would be completely scared of flying in this so small plane. I see this sort of planes very dangerous as you realise of the turbulences much more than if it were a bigger plane and they seem to be very more fragile than the planes we are used to use. In this case they remind me the electric cars case which are very slow and do not have enought autonomy so you can not go very far nor at very high speed. I think this plane can not fly very high so it would not be very useful for commercial flights. Surely they may pollute less but let´s imagine we had a normal flight with around 150 passengers and electric power we should need a very big battery and probably that would not be possible. And if the battery is rechargeable with the sun what would happen during the so long winter or in those countries where they hardly see the sun?

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  2. Paloma,
    I love to see how brave you are taking part in all entries, as promised!! :-D
    Even in this a-bit-more-difficult topic, you have written a very good comment.
    Thanks!!

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  3. Paloma Blanco3/8/10, 7:02 PM

    Thank you Lucía, I always keep my word and I am a bit stubborn so no problem :-)
    Cheers,

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  4. maria santos3/8/10, 7:30 PM

    I do not know if I could fly in this kind of aircraft, I think so, but my husband, who a great defender of renewable energies, he belongs to "Los Verdes" , is seriously thinking about buying and electrical car in the near future and maybe that is the solution...

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  5. I think I would love to give it a try, although it is easy to say this in this blog and I guess I would have another discourse if I would be about to get into that plane ;-) As Paloma says, it surely looks more fragile and its performance has nothing to do with the planes we are used to fly with. But this is just the beginning...

    As I am quite on the same line as Maria's husband, I tend to believe that alternative energies are "the future". Well, they exist already and many of them aren't sufficiently exploited, according to me. Call it the lack of resources, the lack of knowledge, the lack of means, the lobby effect from certain multinationals and industries (i.e. petrol); this may be for another debate.

    But the fact is that we are abusing some of our natural resources without exploring others that are also at our "disposal", and that are - in principle - renewable...

    Some years ago I went to Iceland and there - for example and following the text of the Unit- part of the heating system uses the warm groundwater, houses do have "natural heating" and even some streets are heated through undergrounds systems (it may not be true, but this is what they explained me). I know that those are just examples and that Iceland in a particular case. But still, I guess that on a daily basis, we could little by little act for some changes. Electrical car is a way, as long as it allows a good use of it...

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  6. Well, thanks María and Gisele, if more of us were like you or thoguht like you, there would be a chance for us not to spoilt completely the planet...

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  7. Maria Isabel Bosoko3/25/10, 8:24 PM

    I also support any kind of alternative energies, as they are the future. My husband works for a company wich produces car components with a green label, that means, recycled products and so things. Electrical cars are going to be in our everyday lifes very soon, because they are quite developed. But it is not the same with electrical planes as they are still expensive and not available for normal people for their everyday trips. Maybe in some years things will change.

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  8. Isabel, then you will love the comingsoon post on "no impact man". Don't miss it!!

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