From the land of sky-blue waters comes … no, not a beverage but Canada’s first electric ultralight. And sky-blue waters aren’t the point; instead, it’s all about blue skies and getting up to them for a bit of soaring fun. Thanks to my journalist friend Russ Niles, Editor-in-Chief of AvWeb (one of my favorite aviation websites), I heard about a Canadian friend who’s done some interesting development work. Given the general excitement about electric power and my personal interest in soaring flight, I called up my old friend. Like many of us who enjoy soaring hang gliders, developer Randy Rauck said, “I always wanted to apply electric to a lightweight trike so we could quickly and easily fly our hang gliders up to where the thermals abound.” When he’s not creating a new powerplant Randy runs the Freedom Flight Park in Lumby, BC Canada. “I wanted to try electric to get away from the vibration of a lightweight two-stroke gasoline engine.
Canada’s First Electric-Powered Ultralight
Randy Rauck prepares to make a flight in Canada's first electric-powered ultralight. photo by Trevor Batstone
Using North Wing's Solairus trike and wing, Rauck added electric power. photo by Trevor Batstone
Electric power virtually eliminates vibration, noise, and pollution, said Rauck. photo by Trevor Batstone
Batteries on "Green 1" offer an hour's flight, more than enough to get a soaring pilot to thermal altitude. Rauck plans a charging station at his airpark, so pilots can swap batteries and continue flying. photo by Trevor Batstone