The Air Energy AE-1 Silent is a German
self-launching ultralight sailplane powered by an electric motor. Designed and built by Air Energy, the AE-1 Silent is also marketed by Alisport of Italy, see
Alisport Silent 2 Targa
The Silent 2 Targa is a single seater sailplane of Italian manufacture. It is of the FAI DU Class glider. It is sold by Alisport ready-to-fly or kit-built as pure glider or self-launching glider.
The self-launching version can be fitted with a si ...
.
[Bayerl, Robby; Martin Berkemeier; et al: ''World Directory of Leisure Aviation 2011-12'', page 132. WDLA UK, Lancaster UK, 2011. ISSN 1368-485X] It first flew in August 1997.
Design and development
The Silent is a conventional composite monoplane glider with a retractable 13 kW (17 hp) electric motor driving a 1.92m propeller.
The aircraft was originally marketed with a
nickel–cadmium battery
The nickel–cadmium battery (Ni–Cd battery or NiCad battery) is a type of rechargeable battery using nickel oxide hydroxide and metallic cadmium as electrodes. The abbreviation ''Ni-Cd'' is derived from the chemical symbols of nickel (Ni) and ...
pack, but in 2005 this was replaced with a
lithium polymer battery
A lithium polymer battery, or more correctly lithium-ion polymer battery (abbreviated as LiPo, LIP, Li-poly, lithium-poly and others), is a rechargeable battery of lithium-ion technology using a polymer electrolyte instead of a liquid electrolyt ...
system that gives three times the range of the early installation.
Specifications
References
External links
AE1-1 Silent
Glider aircraft
1990s German sailplanes
Motor gliders
Mid-wing aircraft
Single-engined tractor aircraft
T-tail aircraft
Aircraft first flown in 1997
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