From dawn to dusk, we hear how electric propulsion is going to save the Earth. Whatever your belief about the hazards of fossil fuel, electric propulsion is coming. When is another matter. Air taxi ventures based on multicopter designs are drinking up funds by the tens or hundreds millions of dollars, probably billions by now. I don’t have a shred of doubt that these will lead to genuine changes in transportation… but I would not hold my breath until such services become common. I suspect it will be many years yet. However, today, electric propulsion for ultralight aircraft works quite well, especially when it serves a purpose. For soaring pilots, power is about getting to altitude where they can explore ridge, thermal, or wave lift. Those who love such flying, like me, seek out the best machine that might deliver that capability. Ultralight Design’s Ego trike can. High-Tech Composite Anyone who knows hang glider wings will admire both the construction and substantially higher performance of what’s called a rigid wing — more common hang gliders are called flex wings.
Super-Efficient Electric Flight — Ego Trike with ATOS Wing Shows How E-Propulsion Works Today!
High-Tech Composite
Anyone who knows hang glider wings will admire both the construction and substantially higher performance of what's called a rigid wing — more common hang gliders are called flex wings. One such is fitted to the Ego trike. In fact, the sleek undercarriage was designed with this wing in mind. The wing known as ATOS, however, has been around much longer.In this Photoshop image, you can compare slight differences in these two models. The control surfaces actuate based on subtle weight-shift movements.
Team A-I-R in their display at Aero Friedrichshafen 2023. Note their new two seater in the foreground.
So quiet is an Ego electric trike that the designers playfully added a horn to alert others.
Flying Quietly
"A very quiet electric motor delivers an extraordinarily intensive and specific flight experience," said the company. They observe that an electric propulsion is very well suited for thermal soaring due to its reliability when called upon for frequent restarts. Such ease of restart is especially useful for a soaring neophyte; every time you lose the lift you can power back up and try again.TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS: Ego Weight-Shift Trike with ATOS wing all specifications provided by manufacturer
- Empty Weight — 106 - 137 pounds, including emergency parachute system
- Wheel Track — 59 inches
- Wheel Base — 67 inches
- Dimensions When Dismantled — 69 inches X 17 inches X 25 feet 10 inches
- Engines —
- 2-stroke with electric starter FlyEngine F200, 24 horsepower at 6400 RPM
- Alternatively, Polini 250 dual spark, 36 horsepower at 7200 RPM
- Or, electric: Rotex Electric REX30 16 kW (21 horsepower) at 2400 RPM
- Propeller — solid, fixed-pitch Helix 1.4 meter (55 inch), 2 blades, folding
- Minimum Speed (ATOS VR wing) — 21 knots
- Glide Performance — exceeds 20:1
- Minimum Sink Rate (engine off) — 177 feet per minute
- Powered Climb Rate — 400-1,000 feet per minute
- Powered Cruise Speed — 30-50 knots
- Fuel consumption at Cruise Speed: 0.5-1.3 gallons per hour
ARTICLE LINKS:
- Ultralight Designs, manufacturer's website for Ego trike
- AIR, manufacturer's website for the ATOS wing series
- Article on my flight experience with ATOS wing designer Felix Rühle (Ego trike was not involved)
- A-I-R USA, American representative website