Mar 9, 2023 eLazair4 flight
Published 2023-03-09
I have always wished I had lived during the short era of the great 4 engine flying boats ;)
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Every successful electric powered aircraft takes a tremendous amount of effort to get things just right, I am not sure I am done yet but I am happy enough at this point to share what the hard work of the last 5 months has yielded.
The tail is a down V tail because when yaw moment is created by the ruddervators, there is also a rolling moment created. With this inverted V tail, that rolling moment turns the airplane in the same direction as the yaw moment and with a normal V tail the rolling moment generally fights the yaw moment. This is tried and true tail design with 45 years of use on 1200 Lazairs. It is cable braced forward and I don't know of any tails removed from handling on water or land .
Immediately after this 1st flight ever of the eLazair4, I moved the floats backwards 4" and now they are now not in water when stationary and I am not concerned if they get wet since I always fly from fresh water lakes.
Here are the main power system component costs for my eLazair4 (in US dollars as of Jan 1, 2023):
$427 delivered for one Dual 14s 1800w balance charger: www.alibaba.com/product-detail/UltraPower-UP1800-1…
$920 (on sale) delivered cost for 256 Samsung 40T cells to make batteries for 4 motors (spot welded into 14s4p battery packs): www.18650batterystore.com/products/samsung-40t
$1,520 delivered for four MAD M17 IPE V1.1 100kv motors: www.mad-motor.com/products/mad-components-m17-pro-…
($200 delivered) for four Eolo props 36x12.8 carbon fiber polymer (trimmed to 32” diameter): sunnyskyusa.com/collections/polymer-propellers/pro…
$300 delivered since the above Eolo props were replaced by four Fiala 32x20 wood props which gave this 230lb pilot 420 fpm climb at 3800 rpm at 33 mph airspeed. Level flight cruising is now at 2500 rpm and 33 mph airspeed. www.aeroscale.shop/collections/fiala-propellers-1/…
$920 delivered for four 14s 200a controllers APD 200F3[X] : www.getfpv.com/apd-f-series-200f3-x-14s-200a-60v-3…
$95 delivered for four 19000uf Low ESR high frequency controller capacitors: www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/598-DCMC193U075BB2B
TOTAL Power System: ~$4,200 PLUS miscellaneous connectors, wire, throttle components etc…
At takeoff about 8 electrical hp is output from of each of the 4 batteries.
There is one 9.25 lb battery inside each motor nacelle and my 2 port charger will charge all 4 in about 3 hours.
This eLazair4 (with floats and batteries) weighs ~290 lbs without pilot.
The floatplane version can stay aloft for about 30 minutes and the wheeled eLazair4 will likely stay up about 45 minutes.
If I carry a second set of batteries on board along with the charger I will have a great time barnstorming around the country.
One complete nacelle with prop, motor, motor controller, battery and a large capacitor weighs about 17 lbs.
Static thrust per motor is about 50 lbs.
Top speed is only about 45mph but I would almost never fly that fast since it discharges the batteries quickly and inefficiently.
Efficient cruise speed currently appears to be 30-35mph.
I designed and made a single lever throttle quadrant to control all 4 motors. I programmed its BLE Arduino board to send PWM signals to each motor controller using a closed PID loop which is based on the actual RPM of each motor. That way the forward RPM of each motor is based on the “frictioned” throttle lever position and the Arduino keeps all 4 motors synchronized using just a single throttle lever.
The throttle lever also moves left and right by a self-centering spring action so I can add/subtract a proportional yaw bias RPM to the left and right motor pairs for yaw control.
And, the throttle lever also has a spring loaded proportional reverse thrust action which allows me to have air brakes in the air and for braking on the water.
With this throttle quadrant the maneuvering on water is nothing short of amazing since I can back up and spin on a dime…
Dale Kramer
All Comments (21)
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I wish there were plans I could purchase for this ultralight. It was a superb design and I love its flight characteristics.
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Wow, so cool. Always loved the look of Lazair, and here she is again, beautiful as ever, and all electric. Good to see!
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My hat's off to you. Your aircraft looks graceful and well proportioned. The anhedral stab is a work of art. The performance is simply breathtaking.
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Бесподобно и восхитительно. Особенно удачно реализовали задний ход и разворот. Класс! Всех благ.
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I remember flying with you at the Gimli Manitoba UL meet in the early '80's. I flew my Pterodactyl there from Idaho. During the event that gave each pilot a measured amount of fuel, We climbed up to 1,000' and the pilot that landed last won, I came in second in that event, to your first, and I seem to remember you looping your bird still under power, while I was dead stick gliding down. I could have the details wrong, it's been a long time, but the looping I clearly remember! That entire trip was a blast. I fly a RANS S-7S these days.
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Most impressive. Light weight and just enough speed for a nice relaxing flight above the lake.
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68lbs for 200 pounds of thrust, and 45min of flight time? That doesn't sound too bad.
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Amazing, would not believe that you could break sucktion and get in air so quickly. Great job!
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just nothing short of amazing
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Super cool. Thanks for sharing
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Thank you for sharing.........so jealous in a great way
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I owned a Lazair Series II back in the day and it was the best flying plane (ultralight) I ever owned. I would imagine, with those four motors pumping air over the wings that you have a lot of induced lift just sitting there...thus when you put the power to it the plane just wants to lift right where it's sitting. I wish were still able to purchase a Lazair...sort of wish I never would have sold mine.
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Thzts just fabulous, thanks for sharing
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Nice work Dale! I have always enjoyed the Lazair design. I owned one for several years and put over 800 hrs on that Series 2. Someday I will get another one.
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Wow! That is unreal!
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That’s a Sweet Ride you got there! Nicely flown! That differential and reverse thrust is handy too!
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those four motors means double redundancy, even if two failed, thanks to the extra ones and the big wings he can safely glide to a safe landing. looks good for a nice quiet sunday to survey your farm and see how everything is going on.
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Probably the coolest thing I've seen on Youtube yet. Great work!
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Learnt to fly on a Lazair two place (rotax powered) Beautiful and elegant wing. Thanks for this, brings me back minus the two stroke exhaust smell.
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Non-flier here, just some bloke looking at YouTube and stumbled on this video. That looks brilliant, well done. 👍🏽👍🏽👍🏽
