Experimenter is a magazine created by EAA for people who build airplanes. We will report on amateur-built aircraft as well as ultralights and other light aircraft.
Issue link: http://experimenter.epubxp.com/i/378679
4 Vol.3 No.9 / September 2014 HOMEBUILDER'S CORNER The Future Is Electrifying The revolution is under way BY CHARLIE BECKER I BELIEVE THE FREEDOM we enjoy as homebuilders to adapt to any technology is what is keeping recreational aviation alive. Over the last 60 years, homebuilders have ushered into general aviation so many of the technological advances that improve performance, reduce pilot workload, and enhance safety. Everything from composites to glass panels to ballistic recovery parachutes. The good news is we will continue to play that role in the area of electric aircraft development. I just finished watching Brian Carpenter's Oshkosh forum (available online) on his new aircraft design, the EMG -6, which he officially introduced at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2014. EMG stands for electric motorglider. The forum was extremely insightful on electric aircraft devel- opment in general and his design goals in particular. I'm going to share a few of the ideas that caught my attention, but I encourage you to watch his recording and hear di- rectly from Brian. Thought No. 1: The transition from piston engines to electric motors will be of the magnitude of when airlin- ers transitioned from piston engines to turbine engines. Think about the huge gains in reliability that came with the transition to the jet age. We are on the cusp of that same technological shift. Electric motors typically have just a few moving parts. Bearings should be the only wear item. When you think of the electric motors in your home appli- ances and how reliable they are, you can imagine how big a leap forward it will be for aviation. Thought No. 2: Aviation can and should leverage com- mercial development of battery technology. There is no reason for an aviation company to try to develop batteries; instead, we will piggyback off huge scale industries like cars and cordless drills. Let them fund the research and development (R&D;) needed to make the batteries available in mass quantities. I see this as the difference from using a specialty aviation fuel like 100LL versus using mogas. Thought No. 3: Ultralight aviation will be the first to practically use the electric engine for aviation. The main driver for this is that ultralights are flying purely for the enjoyment of flight. The flight duration is typically short, so landing to recharge your batteries is not a deal breaker. Plus, it will dramatically reduce the noise compared to the two-stroke engines that are the current standard while increasing reliability and decreasing fuel cost. Thought No. 4: The battery R&D; to make all this hap- pen already exists. We are not waiting for a major research breakthrough for this to happen. What we are missing is the commercialization that brings the technology to market in a practical format and drives down the cost. Interesting- ly, it is the cordless power tool market that is driving much of the commercialization. If you get a sense that I'm excited about electric aircraft, you would most definitely be correct. I'm excited enough about it that I'm going to start constructing an EMG -6 (when I'm not working on my clone of a Super Cub). I an- ticipate electric will completely reinvigorate the ultralight and light experimental amateur-built market as existing designs are retrofitted for electric motors and new ones are created. With a foothold in ultralights, the electric revolu- tion will then spread up the line until we have an electric- powered RV! The EMG Glider.