(NGC) New jet glider with a twist, thinking outside of the box

[Gliderjohn]

Jet powered gliders have been around awhile but only as sustainers, i.e. Not powerful enough to launch themselves and still require a tow plane but then the jet can help sustain flight if need to get to an airport for example if lift runs out. The advantage of a jet engine compared to conventional styles powered gliders is lack of drag when starting and reliability of the start along with much simpler maintenance or things to go wrong.
Check out what this new design comes up with to overcome the self launching problem.
http://www.proairsport.com/project-glow.php

GliderJohn

[Lannis]

Jet powered gliders have been around awhile but only as sustainers, i.e. Not powerful enough to launch themselves and still require a tow plane but then the jet can help sustain flight if need to get to an airport for example if lift runs out. The advantage of a jet engine compared to conventional styles powered gliders is lack of drag when starting and reliability of the start along with much simpler maintenance or things to go wrong.
Check out what this new design comes up with to overcome the self launching problem.
http://www.proairsport.com/project-glow.php

GliderJohn

Sounds good, but the use of "has become" in this sentence bothers me:

"The certainty of return to base after soaring flight has become a pre-requisite."

When was it NOT a pre-requisite?    This isn't supposed to be hot-air ballooning where you just land on a power line or in the water or in a tree, depending on what happens to be under you ... ?   

Lannis

[Chuck in Indiana]

Sounds good, but the use of "has become" in this sentence bothers me:

"The certainty of return to base after soaring flight has become a pre-requisite."

When was it NOT a pre-requisite?    This isn't supposed to be hot-air ballooning where you just land on a power line or in the water or in a tree, depending on what happens to be under you ... ?   

Lannis

Glider guys are weird.  They have contests to see how long they can stay up, how much distance they can travel, how high they can get, etc. Some times when doing this, they run out of lift and have to land elsewhere. Having a powerplant of some sort lets them get back to home base without having to have someone bring the trailer to tow it back.

[Lannis]

Glider guys are weird.  They have contests to see how long they can stay up, how much distance they can travel, how high they can get, etc. Some times when doing this, they run out of lift and have to land elsewhere. Having a powerplant of some sort lets them get back to home base without having to have someone bring the trailer to tow it back.

We had a WWII glider pilot living in our town until his passing away a couple years ago.

In the Normandy invasion, he successfully brought his heavily-loaded glider down in a field, stayed upright, and nobody got hurt.   That was the very definition of "Success" in that operation.

He helped get the glider unloaded, the troops took off to their assembly points, and then he realized "Here I am standing here behind enemy lines with a .30 carbine, I'm not attached to any unit, I've got no job to do, and nobody has any plan for me to get back."    It had never really hit him until that point that once the glider stopped sliding, his job was done.

He hooked up with an infantry unit that didn't know who he was, and fought his way through the hedgerows with the rest of them until the unit he was with was evacuated.

Ever since I heard him talk about that, I've been a bit leery about glider pilots and their sanity ..... 

Lannis

[Gliderjohn]

I think the use of an electric motor to provide take off acceleration from the landing gear is pure genius. Never would have crossed my mind anyway. So simple.
Lannis hang around a glider club for awhile and you will find they are about as weird a group of great people as people in the Guzzi world. Many great stories concerning landing out from the home field. Like the guy that landed his glider in a chicken farm manure processing pond, that from the air had appeared to be a perfectly smooth solid landing place. Think he had to buy his retrieve crew many a beer and pay the laundry bill.
GliderJohn

[LowRyter]

it would be interesting if this technology could lead to a safe low powered airplane.  Something with a stall speed of 35 mph but enough power to navigate from point to point.  I suppose the trick would be to give it enough power to overcome weather and wind which of course would increase power requirements, weight and complexity.  Still, if the glider has enough power to climb, I wonder how far we are away from the next step.

[Chuck in Indiana]

it would be interesting if this technology could lead to a safe low powered airplane.  Something with a stall speed of 35 mph but enough power to navigate from point to point.  I suppose the trick would be to give it enough power to overcome weather and wind which of course would increase power requirements, weight and complexity.  Still, if the glider has enough power to climb, I wonder how far we are away from the next step.

Actually, there are many motor gliders now. Gas powered, and electric.

[Steph]

re
"Cruise ability remains, but pure soaring flight or a combined cruise/soar profile becomes an interesting reality"

-why would you want a gas guzzler to cruise around a relatively slow airplane?
-failed engine re-light in flight will be nerve racking!
-done before with the Beedee BD5 jet. Remember James Bond flying one through a hangar? Try that with a glider!

[Testarossa]

I really like the electric-boost takeoff. I've often though that this idea would help a small (LSA) flying boat operate off smaller lakes. An electric-drive marine prop could get a hull up on plane pronto, as quickly as ski boats do, just because water is 100 times more viscous than air. You'd only need a 10-second surge at about 75 kw -- running at 100v (like the Zero motorcycle) that could take less than 5 lb of lithium batteries.

[ITSec]

-done before with the Beedee BD5 jet. Remember James Bond flying one through a hangar? Try that with a glider!

Most people don't know that the BD-5 (prop version) was available in both short-wing (performance) and wide-wing (Cruise and distance) versions. The stubby one got all the attention. There was also an unpowered sailplane version, but that (literally) never got off the ground.

[Gliderjohn]

Quote from Steph:
"-failed engine re-light in flight will be nerve racking!"

Yes it is! But a modern jet engine with auto start, which this glider has, would be much more reliable starter than a two stroke. All the pilot has to do is hit the start switch, everything else is auto. This month's issue of Soaring Magazine has a detailed article on this plane. Relativly cheap too at under $50,000 British Pounds.
GliderJohn

[Gliderjohn]

Quote from ITSec:
"Most people don't know that the BD-5 (prop version) was available in both short-wing (performance) and wide-wing (Cruise and distance) versions. The stubby one got all the attention. There was also an unpowered sailplane version, but that (literally) never got off the ground."

Yep,
They were built about seven miles from where I now live at the Newton, KS airport. Saw a prop version in the back of a hanger there about a month ago. They are little things!
GliderJohn

[Murray]

Sounds good, but the use of "has become" in this sentence bothers me:

"The certainty of return to base after soaring flight has become a pre-requisite."

When was it NOT a pre-requisite?   

"out landings" have been standard fair in cross country glider flying since somebody thought of it as a thing, remembering the very first airfields were simply a field were aeronautical activities took place. Its not a big deal if the field is big enough you pay for the tow plane to come and get you or someone with a trailer comes you de-rig and tow it back.

Although this spiel out of their marketing guff concerns me "The low-drag glide performance alone will be a revelation to microlight pilots." does that imply as a glider its pretty average? Considering the massive L/D's available out of some of the self launchers with retractable props I'm not convinced on this one.

[Gliderjohn]

Quote from Murray:

Although this spiel out of their marketing guff concerns me "The low-drag glide performance alone will be a revelation to microlight pilots." does that imply as a glider its pretty average? Considering the massive L/D's available out of some of the self launchers with retractable props I'm not convinced on this one.

In the Soaring magazine article the company is aiming for a 35 to 1 glide ratio which is pretty decent for a microlight. Current high performance full sized gliders are in the 50-60 to 1 category. There target audience is not contest pilots but people that just like to fly gliders and don't want the hassle and cost of tows or don't have it available near them. You can have a great time with a 35-1 glide ratio.
GliderJohn

[BRIO]

Quote from Steph:
"-failed engine re-light in flight will be nerve racking!"

Yes it is! But a modern jet engine with auto start, which this glider has, would be much more reliable starter than a two stroke. All the pilot has to do is hit the start switch, everything else is auto. This month's issue of Soaring Magazine has a detailed article on this plane. Relativly cheap too at under $50,000 British Pounds.
GliderJohn

Does it have a FADEC? It would seem unlikely at that price but anything is possible these days.

Nevermind, it's a radio controlled airplane type Jet engine. It carries 20mins worth of fuel which translates into negligible distance at glider speeds. The engine is essentially there for launch and slight augmentation if you need that extra few miles of range. The question is how much unpowered range are you forfeiting by adding the extra weight of fuel, electric motors, jet engine, and batteries.

[not-fishing]

Relativly cheap too at under $50,000 British Pounds.
GliderJohn

At that price I wonder where they're making it.  Surely not in Europe. 

I bet there's a 125 lb weight limit to the Pilot.   

[Gliderjohn]

The article said that the engine is only 20cm long but did not give the weight of engine or the electric motor. I am guessing a relatively small battery due to only using the electric motor for a very shot period of time and I would guess it does not take a lot of juice to get that little jet going. It is my guess that a conventional motor glider with a two stroke engine, prop, reduction gear, starter battery and fuel would weigh more.
GliderJohn

[cloudbase]

I like flying tows.  For me, it's the most demanding part of a flight, and always a challenge to get just right.  Each small variance from perfection gives me something to work on to improve the next one.

I wouldn't mind having a sustainer, though, but since I'm a renter and not an owner that's really just a dream.

[Gliderjohn]

Quote from Cloudbase:

I wouldn't mind having a sustainer, though, but since I'm a renter and not an owner that's really just a dream.

Like the majority of us. Some years back at a contest there was a separate class for motor gliders. As they were taking off another of my club members commented, gives a new meaning to "Flight of the bumblebees." There is also a T-shirt out there that says "Friends don't let friends fly two stokes."
GliderJohn