Rob Van der Poel
Junior Member
Posts: 24
Name / Surname: Rob van der Poel
Main flying location: Region, Country: Luxemburg
Two or three axes controls: Three axes
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Post by Rob Van der Poel on Sept 14, 2016 21:59:50 GMT 1
First pics of my brand new Swift-Light E. Many thanks to Christian for the guidance during my first flight. At Useldange (Luxembourg) Glider Airfield Electric Motion First Take-off, yeah. Pitot tube in retracted position (for transport) Side-cockpit with Engine control unit, Radio, Airspeed indicator, spare hole (altitude meter), radio loudspeaker, dynamic microphone (glewed to left bar) Oudie IGC attached via goosneck on right bar and 50Ah battery pack attached below seat. Light weight towing hook at the front Towing hook suspension at front cage side Happy Pilot, after surviving his first flight More pictures to come. Rob
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Post by Christian Hugon on Sept 15, 2016 7:14:15 GMT 1
Congratulations Rob,
It was a great day and a pleasure to help you
Good flights always in safety
Christian
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Josef Stellbauer
Junior Member
Posts: 27
Name / Surname: Josef Stellbauer
Main flying location: Region, Country: Hahnweide
Two or three axes controls: Three axes
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Post by Josef Stellbauer on Sept 15, 2016 11:00:13 GMT 1
Gratuliere Rob, Perfect Cockpit Josef (Hahnweide)
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Post by Robert Twiss on Sept 17, 2016 17:36:53 GMT 1
Congratulations Rob!
I like your Cockpit, very neatly made. Did you make it yourself? Anyhow, I'd love it if you would Post some Info + pictures on it.
As an Electro Swift Pilot myself, I am also interested in the performance of your battery (I have the old drive train with a 40 Ah battery without battery Management Unit). How long is your engine runtime? What maximum altitude can you reach? Do you also have to reduce power after a few minutes to prevents the controller from overheating?
I understand that you may not yet have flown to the Limits of your system, but I'd like your answers in die time..
Cheers Robert
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Post by skysurfer on Sept 17, 2016 19:05:38 GMT 1
Congratulations! May I ask what flying experience you had prior to the first Swift flight?
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Rob Van der Poel
Junior Member
Posts: 24
Name / Surname: Rob van der Poel
Main flying location: Region, Country: Luxemburg
Two or three axes controls: Three axes
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Post by Rob Van der Poel on Oct 6, 2016 19:47:31 GMT 1
Most of my pre-Swift experience is from Paragliding (1000+h). Before flying my own swift i obtained a German ULM Licence and in the meanwhile also have obtained an Austrian motorized hangliding licence since my Swift is registered in Austria.
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Post by Christian Hugon on Oct 7, 2016 7:07:03 GMT 1
Hello Rob, Congratulation for the Austrian hang gliding licence You can come to fly in France and at Marville now Regards Christian
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Post by thermaladdict on Jul 25, 2018 19:04:55 GMT 1
First pics of my brand new Swift-Light E. Many thanks to Christian for the guidance during my first flight. Hello, I was just admiring the pictures of your beautiful glider. Looking at the interior, are options for instruments and pito tube, etc, is this stock from the factory or custom? Cheers, Matt
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Post by Christian Hugon on Jul 26, 2018 9:38:14 GMT 1
Hi Matt, Rob will certainly answer but you have to know that the factory Aériane sell the Swift only with a compass and a speed meter. For the PAS, you also sure receive the starter and electronic to let the Swift to fly. But Aériane doen't produce the thermic Swift. For the E-Swift, when the Swift is finished at the factory in Belgium, it is sent to the factory of Manfred Rhumer in Austria. Manfred installs the E-engine and the electronic to make the e-engine functioning. The pitot tube is installed at the factory in Belgium and is a Venturi pitot (functions with depression). Some pilots installed other pitot tubes with total pressure to reduce the drag. All the other instruments are done and installed by each pilots : see the thread "modifications" and you will be surprised Regards Christian
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Post by thermaladdict on Jul 27, 2018 2:49:50 GMT 1
Thanks for the info Christian. I was thinking they looked custom, but since he said it was the first flight, I was surprised to see all the customization already.
I will have to learn more about those pitot tube options.
Thanks!
Matt
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Post by Christian Hugon on Jul 27, 2018 7:22:02 GMT 1
Matt,
As for the pitot tube, there are two options :
- a simple aluminium tube like me for the pitot total pressure and two holes left and right of the cell for the static pressure. The big advantage is that you can take the total pressure at the distance you want in function of the length of your tube. More long is the tube, better is the measure. The disavantage of that system is that you have to remove each time the tube because the people passing in front of your Swift don't see this tube and can damage it. - or a full system pitot tube and statics, all in one, that you can buy on internet. Ask Rob. Regards
Christian
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Post by thermaladdict on Jul 27, 2018 22:47:26 GMT 1
Thank you Christian, great information again!
Rob, I am also interested to hear about your battery configuration/performance. Have you heard anything about the battery overheating issue that others have experienced?
Thanks,
Matt
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Rob Van der Poel
Junior Member
Posts: 24
Name / Surname: Rob van der Poel
Main flying location: Region, Country: Luxemburg
Two or three axes controls: Three axes
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Post by Rob Van der Poel on Jul 28, 2018 12:41:45 GMT 1
Hi Matt,
The Swift-E now comes with a 60Ah single battery pack from Geiger Engineering. The Swift-E is a wonderful solution to motorize the swift since the aerodynamic fairing at the rear doesn't have any impact on gliding ratio compared to the glider version. Engine performance is good since it will apply a higher current/performance for take-off until 30s after. Climb rate is about 2m/s. I usualy climb to 200m then reduce power to cruise at altitude and go find the next thermal. I have flights where i consumed only 10% of the capacity whereas on other flights i consumed 20-30%. Few times i had to use the engine again during XC flying, since i couldn't find a thermal, but even then i came home with 50% capacity left. I now regularly make flights of 4-6h.
It is true that you can overheat the battery, if you continuously climb to high altitudes or if you use full power in short intervals. The trick is to smartly use your energy by climbing to moderate altitude and reduce power to transition into cruising mode. The e-motor control system also has a maintain-altitude-function, where if you activate it, the power will be dosed automatically in order to maintain your altitude. If you enter a thermal the power will be reduced to just keep the prop turning at no air friction. In fact your motor acts like a vario!
Hope this helps, if you have more questions don't hesitate to message me.
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Post by mike leger on Jul 28, 2018 18:44:02 GMT 1
Hi Matt, The Swift-E now comes with a 60Ah single battery pack from Geiger Engineering. The Swift-E is a wonderful solution to motorize the swift since the aerodynamic fairing at the rear doesn't have any impact on gliding ratio compared to the glider version. Engine performance is good since it will apply a higher current/performance for take-off until 30s after. Climb rate is about 2m/s. I usualy climb to 200m then reduce power to cruise at altitude and go find the next thermal. I have flights where i consumed only 10% of the capacity whereas on other flights i consumed 20-30%. Few times i had to use the engine again during XC flying, since i couldn't find a thermal, but even then i came home with 50% capacity left. I now regularly make flights of 4-6h. It is true that you can overheat the battery, if you continuously climb to high altitudes or if you use full power in short intervals. The trick is to smartly use your energy by climbing to moderate altitude and reduce power to transition into cruising mode. The e-motor control system also has a maintain-altitude-function, where if you activate it, the power will be dosed automatically in order to maintain your altitude. If you enter a thermal the power will be reduced to just keep the prop turning at no air friction. In fact your motor acts like a vario! Hope this helps, if you have more questions don#t hesitate. This is great information Rob. Have you ever tried to see how high you can climb? I assume this would have to be at reduced power levels to avoid the overheating issue. Do you know if anyone has considered or attempted to air cool the battery when climbing, maybe with a door that can be opened/closed? Mike Leger
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Rob Van der Poel
Junior Member
Posts: 24
Name / Surname: Rob van der Poel
Main flying location: Region, Country: Luxemburg
Two or three axes controls: Three axes
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Post by Rob Van der Poel on Jul 29, 2018 13:19:58 GMT 1
Hi Matt,
Two weeks ago i performed some approach/landing training so i took of 4 times climbing to an altitude of 400m AGL. So in total i did 1600m. At this point i reached the temperature limit of 60 degC of the battery only having consumed 40Ah until then. When hitting the 60degC limit the battery management system controller reduces the power to enable holding your current altitude. I assume with only one take-off (which consumes the highest energy) you could continuously climb to perhaps 2000m AGL before you overheat the battery.
In theory this will be more if you climb in intervals, allowing sufficient time to cool down the battery and this is what happens in practical life if you use your swift as a pure XC machine. Air cooling the battery with an external airflow is not recommended by Geiger (i already asked the same question), since it will generate to high temperature gradients in the battery pack. It is helpful if in Summertime you start with a 'cool' battery. (store the battery in a cool location and place it into the Swift just before flight)
Have fun, Rob.
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