I'm 76 & took 6 hrs. flight instruction at age 17 in a Piper Cub & Aeronca & later, went on one 'glider flight'! When the glider pilot pulled the cord, releasing us from the tow plane, I couldn't believe how quiet it was compared to the powered planes! This electric model seems like the "best of both worlds"!
I fly a paraglider so I totally sympathise with the quietness! 🙂But I have never tried a glider plane, all this towing (and other) infrastructure was a bit of a turnoff for me. This self-launch idea is great.
@Josh B one of the ways could be by controlling motor position instead of speed (just like servo motor) which is not that hard if you measure rotor position Or to simplify imagine if you energized 2 motor coils on top and bottom it would attract magnets to it and keep propeller at known orientation
@@joshb6993 Motors can have a position sensor that gives the current angle the motor is at. The motor controller can say that if the angle of the sensor is not equal to straight up or straight down, keep turning slowly until the angle is straight up or straight down.
Wish I had the money. I learned to fly gliders many years ago in Waikerie, Australia, and much as I appreciated being towed up, the costs and tedium of waiting were something I often wished I could be independent of. The -petrol-driven versions of these offered that independence, but is also seemed a little too close to having a powered plane. These electric versions offer up the perfect solution.
That is a fantastic use of technology especially from a safety perspective, being able to climb again if you are not in a position to make a safe landing, and of course to extend flight time.
@@enterprise7585 Electric motors are even more reliable than gas/jet fuel powered ones. Just do proper maintenance of course. And a glider will require less altitude to be able to return to the runaway than a regular airplane due to a much better glide ratio.
@@enterprise7585Electric motors do not really break. Never heard of such a thing. It is much more likely to have a failure in the wiring, voltage regulation and especially battery pack. As for the battery pack you could split it to have redundancy - if one breaks you are left with half the capacity. The rest is of the components do not weigh alot and you can easily oversize them by a large factor so even at max power they are way under their tolerance and thus do not wear out.
That’s a dream come true. Always wanted a glider with some type of motor to take off and land if you need it. Always thought the ones with the jet engines would be great but I love this one.
I believe this is better than the ones using a turbine, because you need at least 4 to have enough power to take off, and as any turbine, specially those very small ones, they don't operate very well below 70% spin speed, mostly because of the size. On the negative side, this glider is probably kinda heavy, because of the batteries .
In 1991 thru 1993 I was stationed in Germany and the Germans truly understand Gliders and Flight training. I should have joined then local glider club and gotten my cert. This is great stuff.
I have an RC controlled model ASW Glider. exactly like your full sized one .Air Brakes, retractable landing gear..and the retracting propeller.....covered with doors when not in use....Ive owned it for quite some time now, had a couple of ...less than perfect landings but it still flys...Interesting watching the real thing... thanks for the trip..
What an amazing machine! Good harmonisation, good performance, particularly the 18m, and this wing span should go some way towards compensating for the battery weight compared with the 15m version. The only problem with this glider is that there isn't one with my name in the log book 🙄... Thank you Stefan for sharing this with us. I can see that you had a really good time. Cheers aus England 😀
Robert, The maximum Lift to drag ratio does not change, it occurs at slight increase in speed, the sinking speed increases in the same proportion. In competition sailplanes a lot of water ballast is carried to substantially increase the cruising speed between thermals. This ballast is drained before landing or in weak lift (meaning thermal or upslope wind vertical component) at the end of the day.
@@arturoeugster7228 I know all that, but all other things being equal, the machine with the longer span has a better performance than one with a shorter span. That's why Open Class gliders generally have a better L/D ratio than 15 Metre Class gliders. I prefer the flying characteristics of shorter span machines, but that wasn't the talking point.
Stefan, thank you for sharing these wonderful videos, very useful for us trying to keep up with the newer models! AS made an incredibly fast progress in the AS33, 34 and now the 35 it looks like. Fliegen Sie sicher und glückliche Landungen! :-)
@patrickfox-roberts7528 Invented by the Wright brothers. Still the best way to see the direction of the relative wind. Also, It cannot break down like mechanical or digital instruments and it reacts faster (no lag) than the turn and bank indicator to indicate if the aircraft is skidding or slipping. Last but not least, the pilot can watch the string while looking outside for traffic. No need to look at the panel.
Thanks for sharing. Really interesting noise it makes whilst holding the prop in position. The two side struts transmit and amplify the noise. Very impressive power delivery and low consumption.
@@BoltRM actually I think it has to lock the prop with a constant signal, so that it doesn’t rotate during lowering and rising. And that’s why it is humming constantly
@@robertschnobert9090Actually you don't need screw. Already more than 30 years we have existing tools for mounting the wings alone and with a self launching glider and a wheel ot the wingtip it's fine.
Eines der schönsten Maschinen As34me war schön zu sehen wie sie vom Rumpfbau bis zur Auslieferung immer kompletter wurde wie ein Zeitlupenbau. Einfach super
yeah I also thought about this. But I did some calculations. the thing is, when you cover all the Wing area with Flexibel Solar Panels (because they can adjust to the airfoil and are lightweight) you would only charge on peak like 4.5 minutes of the max Continous power (25kw), if the charging process would be 100% efficent. so more like 3min per hour. more than nothing, but not great. Also it would reduces the Efficiency of the wing.
Looks like they need some fluff in the air vent! I have the creaking in my glider too, I put just a tiny bit of vaseline on the canopy frame and it stopped it.
I think, this self-launch possibility makes this glider really interesting. I think some propeller optimization is still necessary to use the power of the motor more efficiently.
Ive done a few duel seat flights in small gliders as a cadet BUT the one aircraft towed glider flight I did in the 90's was amazing! - I recommend everyone try one as its so quiet and such an amazing view ! - hope they make a duel seater version of this which will make is available and easier to operated in more locations.
This just changed everything. Like a shuttle launch; This uses the same propulsion/return principles. Great re-use of a past rocket use to glider technology...Add some solar panels in glide mode to re-charge batteries; infinite flight?
Regarding high aileron forces, it sounds similar to the V3. I wonder if that might be because the most recent aerofoils maintain laminar flow extending so far aft towards the flaperons? If the aileron forces are much lighter on the ground then it is likely to be airflow resistance that makes the difference in flight.
I can't remember the forces on the V3M I flew in Namibia. It was not as memorable as at the AS33, that's for sure. Perhaps it's caused by the thinner wings and shorter leverage. The only funny thing is that a South African glider manufacturer is able produce a gliders with light controls.
Impressive victory over gravity & the hire of airplanes ✈️ to get cruising altitude! And the ability to get the craft into proper landing 🛬 approachs! Cool 😎!
Pretty amazing, I am glider rated but having' flown since my California days almost 20 years ago, lots of time in the Grob 102 & 103, really miss those days, don't have the same lift here in Washington, would have liked to hear what the cruise time would be if you were to ferry it back from somewhere.
Let's say you found some great lift and wanted to recharge the battery in flight. Would it be possible to pull the motor up to use some energy by wind milling the prop at the cost of some altitude? If not, they should work on that concept. Imagine how far you could possibly go if it were set up that way. In June of 1972 I was working at Piper Airfield in Lock Haven, Pennsylvania, two weeks before the great flood. There was a Nelson Hummingbird, a piston engine powered, self launching sailplane, that needed a bit of sheet metal repair caused by the prop striking the skin on the top of the fuselage. Just a minor strike, nothing serious. I have been up in two sail planes, a brand new Schleicher and a Blanik. Great fun.
Or maybe a small door that leads to a small generator prop? I believe large jets often have a small prop that can be deployed for emergency electricity.
@@rm4po4 Yes, it is called a "RAT" for Ram Air Turbine. I even installed a small one that popped out of the front baggage door on a Piper Cherokee Six. It was a fan blade connected to a small alternator.
I don't think it'll work. The energy used to inefficiently charge via the propeller will be better used to let the sailplane do what it does best, sailing.
You can get rid of those creaking noises from the canopy by rubbing Irish Spring bar soap on the edges and it shouldn't hurt the longevity of the foam I don't think. Maybe an experiment should be done, but I used it on 4x4 trucks that had the same issue and it worked well. Very annoying and maybe worth a slight degradation in the foam rubber????? It also has a FINE FRESH SCENT! LOL
Sold! I've seen autonomous Gliders equiped with a front propeller. Is it retractable? If not, a substancial drag may take place -- or is it negligeble ?
You're describing the FES system where the propeller folds flush against the fuselage when not in use thus causing negligible drag. The advantage is instant folding or unfolding with no complicated mechanisms required to extend the motor/propeller or extra drag while extended. The disadvantage is the prop must be smaller and thus less efficient with reduced thrust, although the reduced drag when operating makes up for most of this. I've owned an FES self launching Silent2 Electro for 6 years and over 550hr flight time with no maintenance required on the motor system. The glider also has removable batteries which I can take home to charge. I also have a relatively fast portable charger that fits in the glider behind the seat for when I land away from home base. The Lak 17C 18m glider is capable of self launch using the FES system.ua-cam.com/video/rxe6DIfPKb4/v-deo.html
I don't really know anything about gliders per se and this may be a dumb question. But have you tried rubbing some armor All on the rubber seal that the plexiglass cockpit seals against to see if that would help with the racket? 🤔
Nice elewaiter! 😉 Great video…First ten seconds of video I thought I was watching an RC glider clip, I was very impressed with the scale cockpit until I realised. 😜
Call the factory. This nonsense like "a lot" does not help you. And you can always wait until the first ones are sold, secondhand from the first owner is not bad, right, and it will save you some. But for real, call that Schleicher company, they can tell you who sells it for them, and details. Why not?
Wir haben gestern auch bei Schleicher Probeflüge gemacht, und das elektrische Antriebssystem hat wirklich überzeugt. Einfache Bedienung und satte Leistung! Und auch ein sehr nettes und kompetentes Team, das uns alles erklärt hat 👍 Kann ich nur empfehlen, das mal auszuprobieren 😃
Cant find a better application for an electric motor! It only needs enough battery time to get you to altitude, so no worries for how long a charge lasts. Brilliant!
Hi Stefan, could you tell us more about the negative vertical speed increase when the motor-pod is deployed. It acts as an airbrake, sure, but how much ?
When you fly at the minimum sink condition, motor deployed, closer to stall the sinkrate, instead of about o.6 m/s, will be closer to 0.9 m/sec. The power on climb rate looks like 2 m/sec, hard to see flying through the thermal, lowest gage to the left in m/sec scale divisions. 1m/sec is about 1.944 kn At the least sink condition, possible if stall speed is low the induced drag is 3 times the parasite, which the stopped prop contributes to, may be by another 40% So min. sink rate is estimated to be below 1 m/s . L/D, however is penalized higher, because at best L/D the parasite Drag equals the induced Dragi = (L÷span)² / q×3.1416 q = dens/2 × TAS² or SLevdens × IAS² Dragp = q × Wing area ÷ Cd L/D m= span/2 × sqrt( 3.1416/Wa×Cd) knowing your L/Dm you can compute Cd, all this assuming elliptical lift distribution.
Least power = weight× min sinkrate is proportional to Cd ^ ¼ very weak effect. The problem with high aspect ratio wings is that stall speed is higher than the least sink speed ( IAS), so be carefull. near stall the drag increases faster than the formula indicates. The effect of winglets is to increase the effective span by ½ their height The great Aerodynamicist Robert T Jones describes this in his publication, Aerodynamics of Wings, and other publications, he authored
Does it make sense to deploy the engine when landing? You would have more drag to better slow down and also have theoption to abort landing if something go wrong. Or does the engine introce instability or worse handling on landing?
Hallo Stefan, kann man den Akku über den Propeller schon in der Luft wieder aufladen oder muss das noch erfunden werden? Du verstehst, wenn man über die Thermik bereits an Höhe gewonnen hat, hätte man die Möglichkeit den Propeller als eine Windturbine zum Aufladen zu nutzen. So könnte man innerhalb eines Fluges den wieder aufgeladenen Akku mit Propeller in anderen mehr herausfordernden Situationen nutzen - oder einfach als eine Art Kombi-Transformer-Flieger - etwas zwischen Segelflugzeug und Motorsegler.
What a cool glider. My only bugbear would be 'low or no storage space'. i think ideally you'd want 300kg spare for touring. I'd love to be able to hope around the country. Needing to carry a charger is another I guess. Love the minimalist solution.
Thanks Stefan, these look great! Certainly looks simple and quick to deploy and stow (which is good for safety too). Did he mention which chemistry the batteries use? Hoping its something pretty stable like LFP or newer similar variants, which are good for cycle life and stability if damaged (unlikely to catch fire).
From the AS website: "960 Li-Ion metal-clad single cells connected in parallel and in series with a total capacity of 8.6 kWh, divided into 2 battery strings (one per wing) with BMS."
Is the throttle disabled if the canopy is open? Just wondering if you accidently bump the throttle up while standing outside, maybe the glider would move forward without anybody in it. Those electric motors are very powerful and having that spinning near your head would be a scary surprise.
If you bump the throttle up nothing will happen except for the motor extracting. You have to activate the engine unity and then there is still a starter button that has to be pressed after fully extending the motor.
Is this aircraft available with the charging receptable in the wheelwell though? I'd be happier leaving the aircraft unattended with the canopy and motor enclosure closed.
..... In the early '70's i was in Bamberg, Germany in the Army... A glider club was at a nearby airfield... They offered a ride, in a two person glider, for a reasonable price... A truck was at one end of the field with a huge winch like setup... a driver would tow the cable to the glider and hook it... the truck started the 'winch' and the glider pilot did his thing... about the time the cable was straight up, the pilot disconnected, and away we flew for about 10 to 15 minutes... very interesting as I could hear wind and the flexing of the glider, and related noises... My only regret was not doing it again and again ...!
Hi first time, I was wondering how long it took to get up to cruising alt. I was wondering how loud it was getting there. It sounds extremely loud. I would love to have one. Thanks for the video
I used to fly gliders, never with the motor sadly... I got bored, not of flying, but of everything that made accumulating hours difficult, other people damaging equipment, using it for tourist flights, crap weather all summer etc. I also just wanted to fly at some point even without thermals and be a few hours in the air. This could be so much more if they tripled or quadrupled its battery capacity... I didn't mind catching nice thermals when they were around, but why not have a possibility to just fly a few hours even if they're not available?
All I could find was. Brand new with no trailer or instruments, 125,000$ USD. So I assume his was more since it has an instrument panel. Most of what I could find was just people in message boards guessing on price based on what it is. I could not find any actual sales pages.
Or rather I should say that there are no sales pages with prices. You have to order one to be built by the company, and they require you to email them to get a quote based on options you want. The quote of 125,000$ is from a secondary company that sells airplanes from the manufacturer, found in the description of google search results, but going to the actual webpage doesn’t show anything that was said in the search result description.
ha ha ..that smile on your face at the end of the video was telling everything to those who accidentally miss the beginning ... no need to watch in fact and save time ..just kiddin
Thats not point of glider. RAT turbine on 60+ton aircraft has small impact on its gliding capability, but on single person low weight plane will act like handbrake. Fix pitch propeller has wrong orientation of blades for proper windmilling capability in direction which is used as propulsion propeller. Battery needs 3kW of charging for 4 hours, It is not possible charge battery in air.
@@martinleska4292 I think you don't understand what I am getting at. Of course it would slow down the glider massively. How could it produce useful amounts of energy otherwise. You would use it after you climbed up a good thermo you get out your propellor, take a dive, to climb that thermo again. such using its energy at a later point in the flight (obviously with losses)
@@MusikCassette I understand you, but you probably dont understand why it is not possible use this type fixed pitch propeller for converting wind in to mechanical and electrical energy. Small wind generators with 1m diameter 5 blade optimized turbine wheel can produce not more than 300-500W of electricity. I guess turbine optimized for 100+kph can produce 1,5kW One climb in thermal can take 0,5-1hour. With turbine drag plane could fly 5minutes in dive??? 5min=0,083hr*1,5kW=0,125kWh energy produced in one dive. On board battery capacity is 12kWh. 1 recharging dive and some losses= less than 1% of battery capacity means its totally doesnt worth.
@@martinleska4292 a) I don't really buy your numbers there. b)calculating it against batterie capacity does not really make a point because in that configuration you would try for a lower battery capacity. The Interesting number would be the recovering coefficient. And a comaprison in power input compared to photovoltaic. As I see it no one actually tried yet to make it work.
@@MusikCassette great idea, let's make the system as complicated as possible so that it will both be less reliable and more expensive, and then there's also a potential fire hazard. Brilliant idea
I'm 76 & took 6 hrs. flight instruction at age 17 in a Piper Cub & Aeronca & later, went on one 'glider flight'!
When the glider pilot pulled the cord, releasing us from the tow plane, I couldn't believe how quiet it
was compared to the powered planes! This electric model seems like the "best of both worlds"!
Me too, 30-years ago I flew for the first time in a glider, and I thought the same thing when the tow plane left us - peaceful.
My mom had an Aeronca Champ and my dad had a super cub. I had a dragonfly .
I fly a paraglider so I totally sympathise with the quietness! 🙂But I have never tried a glider plane, all this towing (and other) infrastructure was a bit of a turnoff for me. This self-launch idea is great.
hi ron , just turning 70 in august and looking at getting back into a powered sailplane here in nz . wish you the best , cheers
@@JanPBtestno see by
It's so cool how the propeller gently stops in the correct position for folding, the clunk of those doors closing is pretty satisfying too
Indeed but what a noise! Solum Volamus
Am trying to figure out how they managed to get the blade to stop in the vertical alignment
@Josh B one of the ways could be by controlling motor position instead of speed (just like servo motor) which is not that hard if you measure rotor position
Or to simplify imagine if you energized 2 motor coils on top and bottom it would attract magnets to it and keep propeller at known orientation
@@joshb6993 Motors can have a position sensor that gives the current angle the motor is at. The motor controller can say that if the angle of the sensor is not equal to straight up or straight down, keep turning slowly until the angle is straight up or straight down.
How high it can fly?
Wish I had the money. I learned to fly gliders many years ago in Waikerie, Australia, and much as I appreciated being towed up, the costs and tedium of waiting were something I often wished I could be independent of. The -petrol-driven versions of these offered that independence, but is also seemed a little too close to having a powered plane. These electric versions offer up the perfect solution.
How much does this toy cost?
What u mean toy
@@lakingboss1045 how many dollars does it require to obtain one of those crafts
@@0my idk
@@lakingboss1045 maybe ask your boss. Lol. Jk. Peace bro.
That is a fantastic use of technology especially from a safety perspective, being able to climb again if you are not in a position to make a safe landing, and of course to extend flight time.
What if the engine stalls on takeoff? Do you think it's safe?
@@enterprise7585 Electric motors are even more reliable than gas/jet fuel powered ones. Just do proper maintenance of course.
And a glider will require less altitude to be able to return to the runaway than a regular airplane due to a much better glide ratio.
@@enterprise7585 less likely to happen than the tow planes single piston engine stalling on takeoff.
@enterprise7585 just as safe as a rope break if being towed and far safer than the cable snapping on a winch
@@enterprise7585Electric motors do not really break.
Never heard of such a thing.
It is much more likely to have a failure in the wiring, voltage regulation and especially battery pack.
As for the battery pack you could split it to have redundancy - if one breaks you are left with half the capacity.
The rest is of the components do not weigh alot and you can easily oversize them by a large factor so even at max power they are way under their tolerance and thus do not wear out.
That’s a dream come true. Always wanted a glider with some type of motor to take off and land if you need it. Always thought the ones with the jet engines would be great but I love this one.
Jet engines are bad at low speeds, so it's not the best for a self launch.
I believe this is better than the ones using a turbine, because you need at least 4 to have enough power to take off, and as any turbine, specially those very small ones, they don't operate very well below 70% spin speed, mostly because of the size. On the negative side, this glider is probably kinda heavy, because of the batteries .
Actually, there is jet engines too (although not for self launching): ua-cam.com/video/pIhKIWRMdwk/v-deo.html
@@SteFlywhat’s the price for a AS34 ME I can’t find the price anywhere
In 1991 thru 1993 I was stationed in Germany and the Germans truly understand Gliders and Flight training. I should have joined then local glider club and gotten my cert. This is great stuff.
They're crazy about RC Aircraft too. 😳
They invented the sport of gliding and they are #1 in research and development of sailplanes.
I have an RC controlled model ASW Glider. exactly like your full sized one .Air Brakes, retractable landing gear..and the retracting propeller.....covered with doors when not in use....Ive owned it for quite some time now, had a couple of ...less than perfect landings but it still flys...Interesting watching the real thing... thanks for the trip..
what a beautiful aircraft. you are so lucky to have this job. we can only dream of it.
Airplanes with parachutes, and now gliders with engines. That's the way to do it! 👍🏻🇺🇲
Motors... 👍
What an amazing machine! Good harmonisation, good performance, particularly the 18m, and this wing span should go some way towards compensating for the battery weight compared with the 15m version. The only problem with this glider is that there isn't one with my name in the log book 🙄... Thank you Stefan for sharing this with us. I can see that you had a really good time. Cheers aus England 😀
Thanks Robert 🙂
@@SteFly ICH finde es unten immer schöner als open
Robert, The maximum Lift to drag ratio does not change, it occurs at slight increase in speed, the sinking speed increases in the same proportion.
In competition sailplanes a lot of water ballast is carried to substantially increase the cruising speed between thermals. This ballast is drained before landing or in weak lift (meaning thermal or upslope wind vertical component) at the end of the day.
@@chrisneu3487 Besonders wenn etwas schief geht und man wünscht dass man den Absturz am Boden beobachtet
@@arturoeugster7228 I know all that, but all other things being equal, the machine with the longer span has a better performance than one with a shorter span. That's why Open Class gliders generally have a better L/D ratio than 15 Metre Class gliders. I prefer the flying characteristics of shorter span machines, but that wasn't the talking point.
Seems like the addition of some small retractable wing tip gear would be a good idea too and eliminate the need for someone to balance out the wing
Stefan, thank you for sharing these wonderful videos, very useful for us trying to keep up with the newer models! AS made an incredibly fast progress in the AS33, 34 and now the 35 it looks like. Fliegen Sie sicher und glückliche Landungen! :-)
Thank you! Really looking forward to fly the AS33 Me and the AS35, hopefully soon 🙂
@@SteFly ayo, isn't self launch glider just a plane, dawg? I'm confused cause a glider ain't supposed to have no propulsion dawg
@@SteFlywhat’s the price for the AS34 Me
I love that despite all the decades of new tech there is STILL a thread on the canopy :)
@patrickfox-roberts7528 Invented by the Wright brothers. Still the best way to see the direction of the relative wind. Also, It cannot break down like mechanical or digital instruments and it reacts faster (no lag) than the turn and bank indicator to indicate if the aircraft is skidding or slipping. Last but not least, the pilot can watch the string while looking outside for traffic. No need to look at the panel.
I love it. Just minimal and enough for lots of fun
Omg, 80% battery remaining? I was thinking the battery would be around 15-20% at that point. That's incredible.
Motor was running for only a few mins before shutdown. Like 20-25 mins runtime is possible depending on power setting
Thanks for sharing. Really interesting noise it makes whilst holding the prop in position. The two side struts transmit and amplify the noise. Very impressive power delivery and low consumption.
I thought it was loyd for an electric motor, but suppose that could be the reason. Seems like it shouldn't vibrate so much?
@@BoltRM they could program the motor to just pulse, but have chosen to vibrate it constantly so people know it is alive.
@@knowledgebyte I'm guessing pulsing might increase odds of vibration & failure? I have no idea, total speculation.
@@BoltRM actually I think it has to lock the prop with a constant signal, so that it doesn’t rotate during lowering and rising. And that’s why it is humming constantly
It's absolutely amazing what brushless motors can do these days! And, of course, your glider flights are amazing, too.
Were I a rich man and a few years younger. This is my type of (crew support independent) soaring. Had it only been available 50 years ago!
You still need a crew. Gliders can't be used by "lone wolfs" or antisocial rich men. Gliders are perfect to purchase in a gliding club. 🐦🌈
@@robertschnobert9090Actually you don't need screw. Already more than 30 years we have existing tools for mounting the wings alone and with a self launching glider and a wheel ot the wingtip it's fine.
Wow! I miss flying so much that looks like a blast!
Now this seems to be the perfect application of electric power in aviation!
Eines der schönsten Maschinen As34me war schön zu sehen wie sie vom Rumpfbau bis zur Auslieferung immer kompletter wurde wie ein Zeitlupenbau. Einfach super
Throw some solar panels on it and it could go for a really, really long time
Google "Solar Impulse". 👍🏻
yeah I also thought about this. But I did some calculations. the thing is, when you cover all the Wing area with Flexibel Solar Panels (because they can adjust to the airfoil and are lightweight) you would only charge on peak like 4.5 minutes of the max Continous power (25kw), if the charging process would be 100% efficent. so more like 3min per hour. more than nothing, but not great. Also it would reduces the Efficiency of the wing.
@@janmuhlberger9631 Take off power is demanding..How much altitude could one gain in that time period 🤔
It would be way easier to just put an internal combustion engine and fuel tank
@@randbarrett8706 But that would be boring
Looks like they need some fluff in the air vent! I have the creaking in my glider too, I put just a tiny bit of vaseline on the canopy frame and it stopped it.
Yeah the fluff is good, and/or the 'stack of drinking straws' kind of material. I'll try your canopy frame solution!
Hi stefan
I have a question
Can you travel from country to country by this glider ?
Thanks for sharing and you're outstanding pilot.
I think, this self-launch possibility makes this glider really interesting. I think some propeller optimization is still necessary to use the power of the motor more efficiently.
Ive done a few duel seat flights in small gliders as a cadet BUT the one aircraft towed glider flight I did in the 90's was amazing! - I recommend everyone try one as its so quiet and such an amazing view ! - hope they make a duel seater version of this which will make is available and easier to operated in more locations.
Wow! Nice! Things are getting better!
The perfect use for electric power in aircraft. Very cool.
This just changed everything. Like a shuttle launch; This uses the same propulsion/return principles. Great re-use of a past rocket use to glider technology...Add some solar panels in glide mode to re-charge batteries; infinite flight?
Wonderful little aeroplane.
What is the battery maintenance requirements? How often do you have to change the batteries and how many charging cycles can be made?
Wow... Very nice. You need some solar panels on the wings to recharge while your gliding..
That engine is really powerful. I can feel the vibrations on the computer.
Why not use the propeller as a ram air turbine (RAT) to recharge the batteries once gliding?
Probably will create too much drag. Unless you would want to do few long spins down and up around an updraft for few percents.
Regarding high aileron forces, it sounds similar to the V3. I wonder if that might be because the most recent aerofoils maintain laminar flow extending so far aft towards the flaperons? If the aileron forces are much lighter on the ground then it is likely to be airflow resistance that makes the difference in flight.
I can't remember the forces on the V3M I flew in Namibia. It was not as memorable as at the AS33, that's for sure. Perhaps it's caused by the thinner wings and shorter leverage. The only funny thing is that a South African glider manufacturer is able produce a gliders with light controls.
Impressive victory over gravity & the hire of airplanes ✈️ to get cruising altitude! And the ability to get the craft into proper landing 🛬 approachs! Cool 😎!
the part where the blade lines itself up is wild
that is some NICE engineering
Yes, very cool system 👍
Thank you, Stefan - very interesting video about this modern glider model. Looks very nice.
Pretty amazing, I am glider rated but having' flown since my California days almost 20 years ago, lots of time in the Grob 102 & 103, really miss those days, don't have the same lift here in Washington, would have liked to hear what the cruise time would be if you were to ferry it back from somewhere.
Let's say you found some great lift and wanted to recharge the battery in flight. Would it be possible to pull the motor up to use some energy by wind milling the prop at the cost of some altitude? If not, they should work on that concept. Imagine how far you could possibly go if it were set up that way. In June of 1972 I was working at Piper Airfield in Lock Haven, Pennsylvania, two weeks before the great flood. There was a Nelson Hummingbird, a piston engine powered, self launching sailplane, that needed a bit of sheet metal repair caused by the prop striking the skin on the top of the fuselage. Just a minor strike, nothing serious. I have been up in two sail planes, a brand new Schleicher and a Blanik. Great fun.
Or maybe a small door that leads to a small generator prop? I believe large jets often have a small prop that can be deployed for emergency electricity.
@@rm4po4 Yes, it is called a "RAT" for Ram Air Turbine. I even installed a small one that popped out of the front baggage door on a Piper Cherokee Six. It was a fan blade connected to a small alternator.
I don't think it'll work. The energy used to inefficiently charge via the propeller will be better used to let the sailplane do what it does best, sailing.
You can get rid of those creaking noises from the canopy by rubbing Irish Spring bar soap on the edges and it shouldn't hurt the longevity of the foam I don't think. Maybe an experiment should be done, but I used it on 4x4 trucks that had the same issue and it worked well. Very annoying and maybe worth a slight degradation in the foam rubber????? It also has a FINE FRESH SCENT! LOL
I love gliders. I wonder how much run time it has and what the motor power rating is.
35kW maximum power
25kW maximum continuous power
8.6kWh battery capacity
Sold!
I've seen autonomous Gliders equiped with a front propeller.
Is it retractable?
If not, a substancial drag may take place -- or is it negligeble ?
You're describing the FES system where the propeller folds flush against the fuselage when not in use thus causing negligible drag. The advantage is instant folding or unfolding with no complicated mechanisms required to extend the motor/propeller or extra drag while extended. The disadvantage is the prop must be smaller and thus less efficient with reduced thrust, although the reduced drag when operating makes up for most of this. I've owned an FES self launching Silent2 Electro for 6 years and over 550hr flight time with no maintenance required on the motor system. The glider also has removable batteries which I can take home to charge. I also have a relatively fast portable charger that fits in the glider behind the seat for when I land away from home base. The Lak 17C 18m glider is capable of self launch using the FES system.ua-cam.com/video/rxe6DIfPKb4/v-deo.html
I don't really know anything about gliders per se and this may be a dumb question. But have you tried rubbing some armor All on the rubber seal that the plexiglass cockpit seals against to see if that would help with the racket? 🤔
Wow, erstaunliche Leistung. Prima Entwicklung.
A superb machine. Thanks for sharing Stefan.
02:02...Stefan , what the vertical speed max for climbing this flight level ?
More than 3 m/s at full thrust.
@@SteFly Thanks! ❤️ And with piston engines - the same vertical speed ? which motor is better, in your point view?
Enjoy yourself and Life itself, young man. Live, Live, Live Life!
Hi Stefan, thx for nice video. Electric self launch is future of gliding. But that future in now ...
Beautiful, how much weight is added to the set, the aircraft would have larger dimensions to balance it, thanks. Good flights
Nice elewaiter! 😉 Great video…First ten seconds of video I thought I was watching an RC glider clip, I was very impressed with the scale cockpit until I realised. 😜
Almost impossible to find a price for one of these.
How much are they?
That is awesome wish I had access to one of those when I was learning in Wales.
how much does that cost?
Alot
Prob 100k
Call the factory. This nonsense like "a lot" does not help you. And you can always wait until the first ones are sold, secondhand from the first owner is not bad, right, and it will save you some. But for real, call that Schleicher company, they can tell you who sells it for them, and details. Why not?
@@My_Fair_Ladydamn I rather buy a sw-51
It costs €140.000
I like this glider alot, the cockpit looks really finished with the nice finished, cloth interior.. most gliders lack that
Wir haben gestern auch bei Schleicher Probeflüge gemacht, und das elektrische Antriebssystem hat wirklich überzeugt. Einfache Bedienung und satte Leistung! Und auch ein sehr nettes und kompetentes Team, das uns alles erklärt hat 👍 Kann ich nur empfehlen, das mal auszuprobieren 😃
Cant find a better application for an electric motor! It only needs enough battery time to get you to altitude, so no worries for how long a charge lasts. Brilliant!
Hi Stefan, could you tell us more about the negative vertical speed increase when the motor-pod is deployed. It acts as an airbrake, sure, but how much ?
I didn't tested this at my short flight, but it's a very good point. My feeling was that it is not so bad..
When you fly at the minimum sink condition, motor deployed, closer to stall the sinkrate, instead of about o.6 m/s, will be closer to 0.9 m/sec.
The power on climb rate looks like 2 m/sec, hard to see flying through the thermal, lowest gage to the left in m/sec scale divisions. 1m/sec is about 1.944 kn
At the least sink condition, possible if stall speed is low the induced drag is 3 times the parasite, which the stopped prop contributes to, may be by another 40% So min. sink rate is estimated to be below 1 m/s . L/D, however is penalized higher, because at best L/D the parasite Drag equals the induced
Dragi = (L÷span)² / q×3.1416
q = dens/2 × TAS² or SLevdens × IAS²
Dragp = q × Wing area ÷ Cd
L/D m= span/2 × sqrt( 3.1416/Wa×Cd)
knowing your L/Dm you can compute Cd, all this assuming elliptical lift distribution.
Least power = weight× min sinkrate is proportional to Cd ^ ¼ very weak effect.
The problem with high aspect ratio wings is that stall speed is higher than the least sink speed ( IAS), so be carefull. near stall the drag increases faster than the formula indicates.
The effect of winglets is to increase the effective span by ½ their height
The great Aerodynamicist Robert T Jones describes this in his publication,
Aerodynamics of Wings, and other publications, he authored
@@arturoeugster7228 Thank you for your explanations !
that is an amazing progress for gliders
Or a step back for aeroplanes? lol.
Does it make sense to deploy the engine when landing?
You would have more drag to better slow down and also have theoption to abort landing if something go wrong.
Or does the engine introce instability or worse handling on landing?
Hallo Stefan, kann man den Akku über den Propeller schon in der Luft wieder aufladen oder muss das noch erfunden werden? Du verstehst, wenn man über die Thermik bereits an Höhe gewonnen hat, hätte man die Möglichkeit den Propeller als eine Windturbine zum Aufladen zu nutzen. So könnte man innerhalb eines Fluges den wieder aufgeladenen Akku mit Propeller in anderen mehr herausfordernden Situationen nutzen - oder einfach als eine Art Kombi-Transformer-Flieger - etwas zwischen Segelflugzeug und Motorsegler.
What a cool glider. My only bugbear would be 'low or no storage space'. i think ideally you'd want 300kg spare for touring. I'd love to be able to hope around the country. Needing to carry a charger is another I guess. Love the minimalist solution.
Not bad. Not only is it self take off and prolonged flight time, but I'm you may be able to go around if landing is interrupted?
Браво! Много красив, много модерен и много икономичен самолет! Добро пилотиране, браво!
Каква е цената на един нов такъв самолет?
Magnificent. My compliments.
Whats the price? Also ever thought of adding solar? Lastly what if theres no friend to hold up the wing during take off?
They could easily add about 800W solar panels on the wings, it would take all day to charge on its own but would be another good option.
Small wheels on the wingtip enable self launch without a wing-man.
I am 68 now but used to dream about building a similar vehicle when I was 16. I took glider flying lessons at the glider port in Hemet CA.
What about Solar Panels on the Wings? Does this plane fly unlimited with that?
Great fun! I wonder if you could put a small generator on one end of the fuselage to trade excess lift for battery power. 🤔
These are the videos that make UA-cam great. // Estos son los videos que hacen grandioso a UA-cam.
Thanks for the video. Did I miss the price? What will this cost to buy?
Why can't you move the instrument panel to the sides of the cockpit so you can see straight ahead as in a car.
Beautiful plane. What happens if the battery catches fire?
same as if a wing broke of mid flight
@@maartens5069 If a wing breaks one could use a ballistic parachute.
You could drop the heavy batteries by parachute. As a emergency dumping weight procedure.
Божественно,Фантастика,БРАВО!!!
にこにこしてパワフルと言ってるからパワーがあることが良く伝わった。プロペラの格納の様子も良く分かった。
Thank you for the 'ride'. A very good idea for self launching. What is the approximate glide ratio when the motor is folded?
Thanks Stefan, these look great! Certainly looks simple and quick to deploy and stow (which is good for safety too).
Did he mention which chemistry the batteries use? Hoping its something pretty stable like LFP or newer similar variants, which are good for cycle life and stability if damaged (unlikely to catch fire).
From the AS website: "960 Li-Ion metal-clad single cells connected in parallel and in series with a total capacity of 8.6 kWh, divided into 2 battery strings (one per wing) with BMS."
Is the throttle disabled if the canopy is open? Just wondering if you accidently bump the throttle up while standing outside, maybe the glider would move forward without anybody in it. Those electric motors are very powerful and having that spinning near your head would be a scary surprise.
Was wondering and thinking the same! yikes!
If you bump the throttle up nothing will happen except for the motor extracting. You have to activate the engine unity and then there is still a starter button that has to be pressed after fully extending the motor.
I'm wondering if I will be able to fly this without lessons? I don't think you need a PPL for a sailplane, looks fun!
In Europe you need a SPL and also in the USA you need a license! It's also a plane and not to compare with driving a car 😅
I could get used to a video every day:). They are great
Great, thank you! But I can't get used to film and edit one video at the same day :D
Is this aircraft available with the charging receptable in the wheelwell though? I'd be happier leaving the aircraft unattended with the canopy and motor enclosure closed.
Very cool! Suggest adding wingtip wheels that retract 😊so no wingwalker needed
how much does this glider cost? cant find any information on the web...
Now that's clever flying. The glider looks really good. What's the price ?
..... In the early '70's i was in Bamberg, Germany in the Army... A glider club was at a nearby airfield... They offered a ride, in a two person glider, for a reasonable price... A truck was at one end of the field with a huge winch like setup... a driver would tow the cable to the glider and hook it... the truck started the 'winch' and the glider pilot did his thing... about the time the cable was straight up, the pilot disconnected, and away we flew for about 10 to 15 minutes... very interesting as I could hear wind and the flexing of the glider, and related noises... My only regret was not doing it again and again ...!
Hi first time, I was wondering how long it took to get up to cruising alt. I was wondering how loud it was getting there. It sounds extremely loud. I would love to have one. Thanks for the video
cruising alt is like a piece of string.
EZ liftoff idea…retrac wing tip “ squashing hoop slider” manual, pull in from cockpit - weight 1-1/2 lb ea?
Wow what a awesome power system, such simple controls and impressive performance
I used to fly gliders, never with the motor sadly... I got bored, not of flying, but of everything that made accumulating hours difficult, other people damaging equipment, using it for tourist flights, crap weather all summer etc. I also just wanted to fly at some point even without thermals and be a few hours in the air. This could be so much more if they tripled or quadrupled its battery capacity... I didn't mind catching nice thermals when they were around, but why not have a possibility to just fly a few hours even if they're not available?
neat, moving the prop to a pusher, mounted lower on the tail boom might give better (more nimble) flight characteristics
what a beautiful glider
Good usage for the old ASW28 forms, Langes Antares 20E had this 15 years ago. With flaps. And much less noisier, water ballast and 20m
Auxiliary turbine to for regenerative charge. Has it a PRT?
It looks like the ASW28-18 with the Electric conversion. I owned one and it flew and handled beautifully even without flaps.
Yes, it is a ASW28-18 with the electric propulsion system and all the new mods. Great and easy to use glider.
Awesome Stefan.. You are bringing in revolution in the field of glider aviation. By the way how much did it cost for this beautiful bird ?
All I could find was. Brand new with no trailer or instruments, 125,000$ USD. So I assume his was more since it has an instrument panel. Most of what I could find was just people in message boards guessing on price based on what it is. I could not find any actual sales pages.
Or rather I should say that there are no sales pages with prices. You have to order one to be built by the company, and they require you to email them to get a quote based on options you want. The quote of 125,000$ is from a secondary company that sells airplanes from the manufacturer, found in the description of google search results, but going to the actual webpage doesn’t show anything that was said in the search result description.
Can you use the prop as windmill to recharge the batteries??
Can that propeller be used for launching only? Can't it be used for propulsion when you need a little lift?
ha ha ..that smile on your face at the end of the video was telling everything to those who accidentally miss the beginning ... no need to watch in fact and save time ..just kiddin
can the rotor be used as a RAT to recharge the battery in flight?
Thats not point of glider. RAT turbine on 60+ton aircraft has small impact on its gliding capability, but on single person low weight plane will act like handbrake. Fix pitch propeller has wrong orientation of blades for proper windmilling capability in direction which is used as propulsion propeller. Battery needs 3kW of charging for 4 hours, It is not possible charge battery in air.
@@martinleska4292 I think you don't understand what I am getting at. Of course it would slow down the glider massively. How could it produce useful amounts of energy otherwise. You would use it after you climbed up a good thermo you get out your propellor, take a dive, to climb that thermo again. such using its energy at a later point in the flight (obviously with losses)
@@MusikCassette I understand you, but you probably dont understand why it is not possible use this type fixed pitch propeller for converting wind in to mechanical and electrical energy. Small wind generators with 1m diameter 5 blade optimized turbine wheel can produce not more than 300-500W of electricity. I guess turbine optimized for 100+kph can produce 1,5kW One climb in thermal can take 0,5-1hour. With turbine drag plane could fly 5minutes in dive??? 5min=0,083hr*1,5kW=0,125kWh energy produced in one dive. On board battery capacity is 12kWh. 1 recharging dive and some losses= less than 1% of battery capacity means its totally doesnt worth.
@@martinleska4292
a) I don't really buy your numbers there.
b)calculating it against batterie capacity does not really make a point because in that configuration you would try for a lower battery capacity. The Interesting number would be the recovering coefficient. And a comaprison in power input compared to photovoltaic. As I see it no one actually tried yet to make it work.
@@MusikCassette great idea, let's make the system as complicated as possible so that it will both be less reliable and more expensive, and then there's also a potential fire hazard. Brilliant idea