Paul,
Have you heard of the Norton Motorcycle rotary engines? Check this
out:
http://www.alexander-schleicher.de/englisch/produkte/ash26/
e_ash26_main.htm
It solves the aerotow problem.
Paul Nicholson
Thanks for the link Paul.
Yes I have been to the engine factory in Werner Nuestat Austria.
The one rotor Wankel engine started life as Norton. Then became
Midwest and
now Diamond Aircraft owns and manufactures it.
"When required the entire drive unit can be easily removed from the
fuselage
in just a few minutes. Removal requires undoing three mounting bolts,
unplugging the electrics and separating the fuel line. However, 10
years
of operating experience with hundreds of such drive units all over the
world has already earned this power plant an enviable reputation for
reliability and dependability. Contrary to conventional 2-stroke
technology
it is not subject to a time limit and it is also not necessary to
dismantle
the engine for an inspection after 6 years. Instead, after 150
engine hours
(1800 launches of 5 minutes each) only a detailed external
inspection is
necessary which includes a examination of the combustion chamber
through
the exhaust outlet. Provided no wear is found on the rotor seals
the engine
can be operated for another 150 hours up to its total design life
of 1000
hours. All in all, the rotary engine and drive assembly are a huge
step
forward in terms of maintenance, power to weight ratio,
reliability, fuel
consumption, noise emission, power output, ease of operation and
pilot comfort."
Paul Lamar ...No rotor no motor.
Hi Paul,
Thanks for the pictures.
You can read about problems with the two cycle self launched
sailplanes, fouled plugs are common, and their safety record is not
so great. It sounds like the AE50R solves those problems. And with
only a few minutes running required for a launch, the engine should
last a long time.
We were up in Lone Pine last weekend, and our campsite was filled
with hang glider pilots. I really miss hang gliding. There were a lot
of sailplanes flying around too, that's a lot of fun also. The engine
solves the aerotow and cross country retrieval problem. You could
trailer the thing down to Camarillo, put the wings on, and head up to
the desert for some great thermal flying.
Too bad the dollar is getting hammered by the euro - should have got
one a few years ago.
Paul Nicholson
Here's some pictures of a sister plane showing extension and a close up of
the engine assembly.
http://www.alexander-schleicher.de/englisch/produkte/ask21mi/e_ask21mi_main.htm
Paul Nicholson
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