The Alisport Silent 2 Electro is an Italian
mid-wing
A monoplane is a fixed-wing aircraft configuration with a single mainplane, in contrast to a biplane or other types of multiplanes, which have multiple planes.
A monoplane has inherently the highest efficiency and lowest drag of any wing confi ...
, single-seat
motor glider
A motor glider is a fixed-wing aircraft that can be flown with or without engine power. The FAI Gliding Commission Sporting Code definition is: a fixed-wing aerodyne equipped with a means of propulsion (MoP), capable of sustained soaring flight ...
, designed and produced by
Alisport
Alisport srl is an Italian aircraft manufacturer based in Cremella. The company specializes in the design and manufacture of light aircraft and sailplanes in the form of kits for amateur construction and ready-to-fly aircraft for the Europea ...
of
Cremella
Cremella ( Brianzöö: ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Lecco in the Italian region Lombardy, located about northeast of Milan and about southwest of Lecco.
Cremella borders the following municipalities: Barzago, Barzanò, B ...
and provided as a complete ready-to-fly aircraft. The aircraft was introduced at the Aero show held in
Friedrichshafen
Friedrichshafen ( or ; Low Alemannic: ''Hafe'' or ''Fridrichshafe'') is a city on the northern shoreline of Lake Constance (the ''Bodensee'') in Southern Germany, near the borders of both Switzerland and Austria. It is the district capital (''Kre ...
in 2011.
[Bayerl, Robby; Martin Berkemeier; et al: ''World Directory of Leisure Aviation 2011–12'', page 132. WDLA UK, Lancaster UK, 2011. ISSN 1368-485X]
Design and development
The Silent 2 Electro was derived from the
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 ...
and differs primarily in having the
front electric sustainer
Front electric sustainer (FES) is a propulsion system for gliders that uses an electric motor powered by batteries and a foldable propeller. It is produced by LZ Design d.o.o. in Logatec, Slovenia.
The system uses a 22 kW compact outrunner ...
with its nose-mounted electric motor and propeller and associated batteries and controllers. It was originally called the ''Silent Targa E''.
The aircraft is made from composites and features a
T-tail
A T-tail is an empennage configuration in which the tailplane is mounted to the top of the fin. The arrangement looks like the capital letter T, hence the name. The T-tail differs from the standard configuration in which the tailplane is ...
. The wing skins are made from a composite sandwich built over
pultruded carbon fibre
Carbon fiber-reinforced polymers (American English), carbon-fibre-reinforced polymers (Commonwealth English), carbon-fiber-reinforced plastics, carbon-fiber reinforced-thermoplastic (CFRP, CRP, CFRTP), also known as carbon fiber, carbon compo ...
spars. Its span, elliptical planform wing employs a 16% IMD 050
airfoil
An airfoil (American English) or aerofoil (British English) is the cross-sectional shape of an object whose motion through a gas is capable of generating significant lift, such as a wing, a sail, or the blades of propeller, rotor, or turbine.
...
, has an area of and mounts
flaperon
A flaperon (a portmanteau of flap and aileron) on an aircraft's wing is a type of control surface that combines the functions of both flaps and ailerons. Some smaller kitplanes have flaperons for reasons of simplicity of manufacture, while ...
s. The
bubble canopy
A bubble canopy is an aircraft canopy constructed without bracing, for the purpose of providing a wider unobstructed field of view to the pilot, often providing 360° all-round visibility.
The designs of bubble canopies can drastically vary; s ...
tips up for access and has a built-in vent. The
landing gear
Landing gear is the undercarriage of an aircraft or spacecraft that is used for takeoff or landing. For aircraft it is generally needed for both. It was also formerly called ''alighting gear'' by some manufacturers, such as the Glenn L. Martin ...
consists of a retractable main
monowheel gear
Landing gear is the undercarriage of an aircraft or spacecraft that is used for takeoff or landing. For aircraft it is generally needed for both. It was also formerly called ''alighting gear'' by some manufacturers, such as the Glenn L. Martin ...
, a fixed (or optionally steerable) tail wheel and
faired polymer
wing tip
A wing tip (or wingtip) is the part of the wing that is most distant from the fuselage of a fixed-wing aircraft.
Because the wing tip shape influences the size and drag of the wingtip vortices, tip design has produced a diversity of sha ...
wheels. The electric motor is powered by two
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 ...
packs mounted near the aircraft's
center of gravity
In physics, the center of mass of a distribution of mass in space (sometimes referred to as the balance point) is the unique point where the weight function, weighted relative position (vector), position of the distributed mass sums to zero. Thi ...
, totalling a capacity of 4.3 kWh and weighing 15.5 kg (34.2 lbs). The nose-mounted propeller folds alongside the aircraft's nose when not powered to reduce drag and self-deploys when power is applied. The propeller mounting location eliminates the need for a retractable pylon and allows instant restarts of the engine without preparation, at any time in flight.
The take-off distance on asphalt is and the engine gives a climb rate of 2.0 m/s (400 ft/min).
Specifications (Silent 2 Electro)
See also
References
External links
*
{{Alisport aircraft
2010s Italian sailplanes
Alisport aircraft