Electric powerplant on RV?

[BrettShaffer]

Recently saw a video posted with an all electric Sonex. Has anyone done this with an RV?

[gasman]

Originally Posted by BrettShaffer

Recently saw a video posted with an all electric Sonex. Has anyone done this with an RV?

Sonex has been working on this for about 15 years.

[FlyGuy65]

Electric motor might be a good way to taxi to the fuel pump!

[FlyGuy65]

Maybe just my flawed memory, but it seems that when electric motors came to model rc planes, there were a lot of attempts to fit them to existing designs. However, the existing designs were built around heavy, vibrating engines and the need to protect against oil exhaust and fuel proofing. A brand new plane designed specifically around electric power might be the key?

[Ironflight]

Originally Posted by gasman

Sonex has been working on this for about 15 years.

Actually, Sonex worked on it close to ten years ago, flew it, then put it in the corner of the hangar, where it has sat ever since. John M. Got more interested in turbine power after that....

There is an individual who put together (And has flown!) an electric Sonex recently.

Paul

[Snowflake]

Electric cars didn't take off until they started building them with the intent of electric operation from the ground up. Nissan, Tesla, etc. One may argue that the hybrid started the revolution (Toyota) by giving an electric powered car to people who were afraid of giving up the gas engine.

The first purpose built electric, the Pipestrel VirusE, looks similar as they've shoehorned the electrics into an existing airframe... but the range is quite limited. I suspect any attempt to do the same with an RV would have the same result.

In the simplest conversion, one would need to replace the fuel tanks with batteries, and in the engine compartment install a new engine mount with the electric engine at the front and *more* batteries behind it. I haven't done even a back-of-the-envelope calculation on the results, but my gut feeling is that you'd lose half the range of an equivalent gas-powered RV, and you may add 5-10% to the empty weight.

If the goal is to minimize your environmental impact by going electric, and are willing to give up a little performance to get there, then it's definitely do-able and worth it.

[DeeCee 57]

well there’s a project around the corner... for me that is

https://e-sling.com/en/

We’ll see how this one works out...

[TomAniello]

I just started building the wings on my RV-8, and at the pace I’m going I probably won’t be flying for 10 more years. While I will build and seal the wing fuel tanks, I am keeping a close eye on electric aircraft and battery technology in the hopes that in 10 years it will be feasible to fly 2+ hours in an electric RV. To see how quickly the automotive industry is transitioning to electric power gives me hope that aviation will be able to take advantage of the lower costs of mass produced batteries and motors.

My motivation is not environmental or political, but primarily economic - I still can’t swallow the concept of paying $30k for a new Lycoming and $5/gal for a fuel which will only go up in price and get harder to find.

There are also major side benefits of electric powered aircraft compared to internal combustion engines — smoother, quieter, less maintenance, simpler, and of course no emissions. What’s not to like?

If other RV builders are seriously interested in pursuing this propulsion technology, let’s start a new section in this forum to share ideas and experiences.

[rocketman1988]

Just saw that Yamaha is testing a 150Kw motor...that’s 200hp...

Of course you would need adequate battery capacity...

[Aluminum]

Originally Posted by FlyGuy65

A brand new plane designed specifically around electric power might be the key?

This one makes a whole lot of sense.