• Can we have "fool-proof zero maintenance ultra reliable electric motor

    From Eric Greenwell@21:1/5 to kinsell on Fri Apr 8 07:18:24 2022
    Trying to get this into it's own thread - 1st try failed.

    On 4/6/2022 6:23 AM, kinsell wrote:
    The MGM HBC series controllers that were being used(not sure if they still are), can
    have a nasty electrical fire if there is a short between board layers. I know this from
    first hand experience. The fire stops as soon as power is removed. Very stinky.
    FWIW
    UH

    That's weird. MGM-Compro is sposed to be a world leader in electrical propulsion
    systems. If those guys can screw up, how are we going to get fool-proof zero maintenance
    ultra reliable electric motor gliders??

    I have good news for you: we have that glider already! And, it uses an FES propulsion.
    Talk to FES owners, monitor their news groups, and you'll discover what I did: the owners
    are very happy, and the news groups have very little conversation. Why is that? One dealer
    summed it up this way: "What's to talk about? You charge it, you fly it, repeat as desired."

    --
    Eric Greenwell - USA
    - "A Guide to Self-launching Sailplane Operation"
    https://sites.google.com/site/motorgliders/publications

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  • From [email protected]@21:1/5 to Eric Greenwell on Fri Apr 8 07:30:15 2022
    On Friday, April 8, 2022 at 10:18:27 AM UTC-4, Eric Greenwell wrote:
    Trying to get this into it's own thread - 1st try failed.

    On 4/6/2022 6:23 AM, kinsell wrote:
    The MGM HBC series controllers that were being used(not sure if they still are), can
    have a nasty electrical fire if there is a short between board layers. I know this from
    first hand experience. The fire stops as soon as power is removed. Very stinky.
    FWIW
    UH

    That's weird. MGM-Compro is sposed to be a world leader in electrical propulsion
    systems. If those guys can screw up, how are we going to get fool-proof zero maintenance
    ultra reliable electric motor gliders??

    I have good news for you: we have that glider already! And, it uses an FES propulsion.
    Talk to FES owners, monitor their news groups, and you'll discover what I did: the owners
    are very happy, and the news groups have very little conversation. Why is that? One dealer
    summed it up this way: "What's to talk about? You charge it, you fly it, repeat as desired."

    --
    Eric Greenwell - USA
    - "A Guide to Self-launching Sailplane Operation" https://sites.google.com/site/motorgliders/publications

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  • From [email protected]@21:1/5 to Eric Greenwell on Fri Apr 8 07:32:16 2022
    On Friday, April 8, 2022 at 10:18:27 AM UTC-4, Eric Greenwell wrote:
    Trying to get this into it's own thread - 1st try failed.

    On 4/6/2022 6:23 AM, kinsell wrote:
    The MGM HBC series controllers that were being used(not sure if they still are), can
    have a nasty electrical fire if there is a short between board layers. I know this from
    first hand experience. The fire stops as soon as power is removed. Very stinky.
    FWIW
    UH

    That's weird. MGM-Compro is sposed to be a world leader in electrical propulsion
    systems. If those guys can screw up, how are we going to get fool-proof zero maintenance
    ultra reliable electric motor gliders??

    I have good news for you: we have that glider already! And, it uses an FES propulsion.
    Talk to FES owners, monitor their news groups, and you'll discover what I did: the owners
    are very happy, and the news groups have very little conversation. Why is that? One dealer
    summed it up this way: "What's to talk about? You charge it, you fly it, repeat as desired."

    --
    Eric Greenwell - USA
    - "A Guide to Self-launching Sailplane Operation" https://sites.google.com/site/motorgliders/publications

    Want a guarantee? Try powered by nuclear fusion, certainly a fire but external to the glider.

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  • From Mark Mocho@21:1/5 to All on Fri Apr 8 07:35:08 2022
    If those guys can screw up, how are we going to get fool-proof zero maintenance
    ultra reliable electric motor gliders??

    Anything more complex than a rock is probably never going to qualify as fool-proof, zero maintenance and ultra reliable.

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
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  • From Eric Greenwell@21:1/5 to Eric Greenwell on Fri Apr 8 07:40:24 2022
    On 4/8/2022 7:18 AM, Eric Greenwell wrote:
    Trying to get this into it's own thread - 1st try failed.

    On 4/6/2022 6:23 AM, kinsell wrote:
    The MGM HBC series controllers that were being used(not sure if they still are), can
    have a nasty electrical fire if there is a short between board layers. I know this from
    first hand experience. The fire stops as soon as power is removed. Very stinky.
    FWIW
    UH

    That's weird.  MGM-Compro is sposed to be a world leader in electrical propulsion
    systems.  If those guys can screw up, how are we going to get fool-proof zero maintenance
    ultra reliable electric motor gliders??

    I have good news for you: we have that glider already! And, it uses an FES propulsion.
    Talk to FES owners, monitor their news groups, and you'll discover what I did: the owners
    are very happy, and the news groups have very little conversation. Why is that? One dealer
    summed it up this way: "What's to talk about? You charge it, you fly it, repeat as desired."

    Alright, it now has it's own thread.

    Part of reliability is safety. I trust the manufacturers like Schleicher, etc, to build a
    good product, but if you are a "trust but verify" person, EASA has your back! This quote
    is from the Nordic Gliding article on the Antares:

    "A 21700 battery (with which the aircraft will be fitted from 2021/22) turns into as much
    as 14 liters of gas in the event of a fire. The certification test dictates that any fire
    must not spread to the rest of the battery which consists of 504 cells in each wing. Lange
    has designed fireproof ventilation ducts in the wing, where the hot gases can be
    ventilated out through if a fire occurs during flight. When the engine is running, the
    ventilation opening is automatically opened under the wing by means of an electric servo."

    The methods to prevent fire spreading have been studied for many years with cylindrical
    cells of many chemistries, and the techniques are well known. Glider pilots are not the
    only people that don't want a cell failure to lead to incineration.

    --
    Eric Greenwell - USA
    - "A Guide to Self-launching Sailplane Operation"
    https://sites.google.com/site/motorgliders/publications

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  • From Dan Marotta@21:1/5 to Eric Greenwell on Fri Apr 8 10:13:58 2022
    But what about when the engine is NOT running? Will these ventilation
    ducts open automagically if the engine is off and a battery fire starts
    anyway? Think about that ship; I don't think any of the cars onboard
    were running.

    Dan
    5J

    On 4/8/22 08:40, Eric Greenwell wrote:
    When the engine is running, the ventilation opening is automatically
    opened under the wing by means of an electric servo."

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  • From Eric Greenwell@21:1/5 to Dan Marotta on Fri Apr 8 09:57:18 2022
    On 4/8/2022 9:13 AM, Dan Marotta wrote:
    But what about when the engine is NOT running?  Will these ventilation ducts open
    automagically if the engine is off and a battery fire starts anyway?  Think about that
    ship; I don't think any of the cars onboard were running.

    Dan
    5J

    On 4/8/22 08:40, Eric Greenwell wrote:
    When the engine is running, the ventilation opening is automatically opened under the
    wing by means of an electric servo."
    We still don't know what caused the fire on the ship, so I don't think we should assume it
    occurred spontaneously in an EV.

    I don't know the details of the Antares system, but making the vent open automatically
    when a fire is detected would be simple, as the sensors, servo, and control unit are
    already there, and likely standard operation is to leave them turned on during flight.

    Other simpler methods could be used: a mechanical thermofuse could release a spring loaded
    vent door when the battery box temperature increased after cell eruption.

    --
    Eric Greenwell - USA
    - "A Guide to Self-launching Sailplane Operation"
    https://sites.google.com/site/motorgliders/publications

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  • From Dan Marotta@21:1/5 to Eric Greenwell on Fri Apr 8 18:14:17 2022
    Oh - Sensors and servos... I've got them all over my Stemme.

    As to not assuming the shipboard fire started in a car, I would find it
    easier to assume that than some other thing. True, we don't have any
    details and probably won't get any but I gotta ask: What generates a
    fire hot enough to sink a ship which, one would assume, has fire
    suppression systems.

    Dan
    5J

    On 4/8/22 10:57, Eric Greenwell wrote:
    On 4/8/2022 9:13 AM, Dan Marotta wrote:
    But what about when the engine is NOT running?  Will these ventilation
    ducts open automagically if the engine is off and a battery fire
    starts anyway?  Think about that ship; I don't think any of the cars
    onboard were running.

    Dan
    5J

    On 4/8/22 08:40, Eric Greenwell wrote:
    When the engine is running, the ventilation opening is automatically
    opened under the wing by means of an electric servo."
    We still don't know what caused the fire on the ship, so I don't think
    we should assume it occurred spontaneously in an EV.

    I don't know the details of the Antares system, but making the vent open automatically when a fire is detected would be simple, as the sensors,
    servo, and control unit are already there, and likely standard operation
    is to leave them turned on during flight.

    Other simpler methods could be used: a mechanical thermofuse could
    release a spring loaded vent door when the battery box temperature
    increased after cell eruption.


    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Eric Greenwell@21:1/5 to Dan Marotta on Fri Apr 8 19:10:39 2022
    It would be very entertaining to listen in on the board meetings of the insurance
    company(s), shipping company, the ship designers, the ship builder, owners of the cargo
    (car-go: got to be a good pun in there), and their discussions with each other and the
    people that loaded the vehicles, and the captain and the crew. A lot of actors in this
    disaster, likely multiple errors.

    On 4/8/2022 5:14 PM, Dan Marotta wrote:
    Oh - Sensors and servos...  I've got them all over my Stemme.

    As to not assuming the shipboard fire started in a car, I would find it easier to assume
    that than some other thing.  True, we don't have any details and probably won't get any
    but I gotta ask:  What generates a fire hot enough to sink a ship which, one would assume,
    has fire suppression systems.

    Dan
    5J

    On 4/8/22 10:57, Eric Greenwell wrote:
    On 4/8/2022 9:13 AM, Dan Marotta wrote:
    But what about when the engine is NOT running?  Will these ventilation ducts open
    automagically if the engine is off and a battery fire starts anyway?  Think about that
    ship; I don't think any of the cars onboard were running.

    Dan
    5J

    On 4/8/22 08:40, Eric Greenwell wrote:
    When the engine is running, the ventilation opening is automatically opened under the
    wing by means of an electric servo."
    We still don't know what caused the fire on the ship, so I don't think we should assume
    it occurred spontaneously in an EV.

    I don't know the details of the Antares system, but making the vent open automatically
    when a fire is detected would be simple, as the sensors, servo, and control unit are
    already there, and likely standard operation is to leave them turned on during flight.

    Other simpler methods could be used: a mechanical thermofuse could release a spring
    loaded vent door when the battery box temperature increased after cell eruption.



    --
    Eric Greenwell - USA
    - "A Guide to Self-launching Sailplane Operation"
    https://sites.google.com/site/motorgliders/publications

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
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  • From Mark Mocho@21:1/5 to All on Fri Apr 8 19:56:29 2022
    the ship builder, owners of the cargo
    (car-go: got to be a good pun in there)

    "When you send something by car, it's called shipping. When you send something by ship, it's called cargo."

    Steven Wright

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  • From Eric Greenwell@21:1/5 to kinsell on Fri Apr 8 20:02:25 2022
    It wasn't clear from the article if the used EV ban was because they'd been used, or
    because used EVs could have accident damage, or how many of the Felicity Ace EVs were
    used, if any. I thought all the cars, including EVs, were new.

    On 4/8/2022 7:44 PM, kinsell wrote:
    BREAKING NEWS:  The (former) owner of the Felicity Ace has decided against shipping used
    bev cars in the future.

    https://wonderfulengineering.com/this-car-shipping-giant-has-banned-shipping-of-used-evs-after-the-felicity-ace-sinking/


    Now that doesn't definitively prove anything, but it shows which way they're leaning (or
    listing).


    On 4/8/22 20:10, Eric Greenwell wrote:
    It would be very entertaining to listen in on the board meetings of the insurance
    company(s), shipping company, the ship designers, the ship builder, owners of the cargo
    (car-go: got to be a good pun in there), and their discussions with each other and the
    people that loaded the vehicles, and the captain and the crew. A lot of actors in this
    disaster, likely multiple errors.

    On 4/8/2022 5:14 PM, Dan Marotta wrote:
    Oh - Sensors and servos...  I've got them all over my Stemme.

    As to not assuming the shipboard fire started in a car, I would find it easier to
    assume that than some other thing.  True, we don't have any details and probably won't
    get any but I gotta ask:  What generates a fire hot enough to sink a ship which, one
    would assume, has fire suppression systems.

    Dan
    5J

    On 4/8/22 10:57, Eric Greenwell wrote:
    On 4/8/2022 9:13 AM, Dan Marotta wrote:
    But what about when the engine is NOT running?  Will these ventilation ducts open
    automagically if the engine is off and a battery fire starts anyway?  Think about
    that ship; I don't think any of the cars onboard were running.

    Dan
    5J

    On 4/8/22 08:40, Eric Greenwell wrote:
    When the engine is running, the ventilation opening is automatically opened under
    the wing by means of an electric servo."
    We still don't know what caused the fire on the ship, so I don't think we should
    assume it occurred spontaneously in an EV.

    I don't know the details of the Antares system, but making the vent open automatically
    when a fire is detected would be simple, as the sensors, servo, and control unit are
    already there, and likely standard operation is to leave them turned on during flight.

    Other simpler methods could be used: a mechanical thermofuse could release a spring
    loaded vent door when the battery box temperature increased after cell eruption.






    --
    Eric Greenwell - USA
    - "A Guide to Self-launching Sailplane Operation"
    https://sites.google.com/site/motorgliders/publications

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From kinsell@21:1/5 to Eric Greenwell on Fri Apr 8 20:44:04 2022
    BREAKING NEWS: The (former) owner of the Felicity Ace has decided
    against shipping used bev cars in the future.

    https://wonderfulengineering.com/this-car-shipping-giant-has-banned-shipping-of-used-evs-after-the-felicity-ace-sinking/

    Now that doesn't definitively prove anything, but it shows which way
    they're leaning (or listing).


    On 4/8/22 20:10, Eric Greenwell wrote:
    It would be very entertaining to listen in on the board meetings of the insurance company(s), shipping company, the ship designers, the ship
    builder, owners of the cargo (car-go: got to be a good pun in there),
    and their discussions with each other and the people that loaded the vehicles, and the captain and the crew. A lot of actors in this
    disaster, likely multiple errors.

    On 4/8/2022 5:14 PM, Dan Marotta wrote:
    Oh - Sensors and servos...  I've got them all over my Stemme.

    As to not assuming the shipboard fire started in a car, I would find
    it easier to assume that than some other thing.  True, we don't have
    any details and probably won't get any but I gotta ask:  What
    generates a fire hot enough to sink a ship which, one would assume,
    has fire suppression systems.

    Dan
    5J

    On 4/8/22 10:57, Eric Greenwell wrote:
    On 4/8/2022 9:13 AM, Dan Marotta wrote:
    But what about when the engine is NOT running?  Will these
    ventilation ducts open automagically if the engine is off and a
    battery fire starts anyway?  Think about that ship; I don't think
    any of the cars onboard were running.

    Dan
    5J

    On 4/8/22 08:40, Eric Greenwell wrote:
    When the engine is running, the ventilation opening is
    automatically opened under the wing by means of an electric servo."
    We still don't know what caused the fire on the ship, so I don't
    think we should assume it occurred spontaneously in an EV.

    I don't know the details of the Antares system, but making the vent
    open automatically when a fire is detected would be simple, as the
    sensors, servo, and control unit are already there, and likely
    standard operation is to leave them turned on during flight.

    Other simpler methods could be used: a mechanical thermofuse could
    release a spring loaded vent door when the battery box temperature
    increased after cell eruption.




    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Matt Herron Jr.@21:1/5 to Eric Greenwell on Sat Apr 9 19:29:57 2022
    Is supplying a burning battery compartment with fresh oxygen the right solution? Most modern battery fires cannot be extinguished (see Tesla advice to fire fighters). Smaller Lipo and LiFe batteries are charged and stored in a sealed fiberglass bag to
    deprive the battery of oxygen if it catches fire. I would prefer that the pilot is supplied with fresh air until he can bail out.

    Matt

    On Friday, April 8, 2022 at 9:57:22 AM UTC-7, Eric Greenwell wrote:
    On 4/8/2022 9:13 AM, Dan Marotta wrote:
    But what about when the engine is NOT running? Will these ventilation ducts open
    automagically if the engine is off and a battery fire starts anyway? Think about that
    ship; I don't think any of the cars onboard were running.

    Dan
    5J

    On 4/8/22 08:40, Eric Greenwell wrote:
    When the engine is running, the ventilation opening is automatically opened under the
    wing by means of an electric servo."
    We still don't know what caused the fire on the ship, so I don't think we should assume it
    occurred spontaneously in an EV.

    I don't know the details of the Antares system, but making the vent open automatically
    when a fire is detected would be simple, as the sensors, servo, and control unit are
    already there, and likely standard operation is to leave them turned on during flight.

    Other simpler methods could be used: a mechanical thermofuse could release a spring loaded
    vent door when the battery box temperature increased after cell eruption.
    --
    Eric Greenwell - USA
    - "A Guide to Self-launching Sailplane Operation" https://sites.google.com/site/motorgliders/publications

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Eric Greenwell@21:1/5 to Matt Herron Jr. on Sun Apr 10 06:13:22 2022
    My understanding is the battery chemistry used in gliders already has all the oxygen it
    needs to burn, so adding more does not increase the burning. The venting does expel the
    hot gases and protects the battery box, and that protects the structure outside the box.
    The pilot's fresh air vents still work normally, and if the battery box design meets the
    certification requirements, he will not need to bail out, but simply land at an airport.

    For small battery charging, I've read that the bag is to prevent the battery fire from
    spreading while it burns itself out, and does not smother the fire.

    On 4/9/2022 7:29 PM, Matt Herron Jr. wrote:
    Is supplying a burning battery compartment with fresh oxygen the right solution? Most modern battery fires cannot be extinguished (see Tesla advice to fire fighters). Smaller Lipo and LiFe batteries are charged and stored in a sealed fiberglass bag
    to deprive the battery of oxygen if it catches fire. I would prefer that the pilot is supplied with fresh air until he can bail out.

    Matt

    On Friday, April 8, 2022 at 9:57:22 AM UTC-7, Eric Greenwell wrote:
    On 4/8/2022 9:13 AM, Dan Marotta wrote:
    But what about when the engine is NOT running? Will these ventilation ducts open
    automagically if the engine is off and a battery fire starts anyway? Think about that
    ship; I don't think any of the cars onboard were running.

    Dan
    5J

    On 4/8/22 08:40, Eric Greenwell wrote:
    When the engine is running, the ventilation opening is automatically opened under the
    wing by means of an electric servo."
    We still don't know what caused the fire on the ship, so I don't think we should assume it
    occurred spontaneously in an EV.

    I don't know the details of the Antares system, but making the vent open automatically
    when a fire is detected would be simple, as the sensors, servo, and control unit are
    already there, and likely standard operation is to leave them turned on during flight.

    Other simpler methods could be used: a mechanical thermofuse could release a spring loaded
    vent door when the battery box temperature increased after cell eruption.
    --
    Eric Greenwell - USA
    - "A Guide to Self-launching Sailplane Operation"
    https://sites.google.com/site/motorgliders/publications


    --
    Eric Greenwell - USA
    - "A Guide to Self-launching Sailplane Operation"
    https://sites.google.com/site/motorgliders/publications

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  • From Mark Mocho@21:1/5 to All on Sun Apr 10 08:37:32 2022
    The pilot's fresh air vents still work normally, and if the battery box design meets the
    certification requirements, he will not need to bail out, but simply land at an airport.

    Or you can simply land directly below the place your wings or fuselage melted. Venting fumes probably won't compensate for the heat of the battery fire.

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  • From Eric Greenwell@21:1/5 to Mark Mocho on Sun Apr 10 09:29:25 2022
    On 4/10/2022 8:37 AM, Mark Mocho wrote:

    The pilot's fresh air vents still work normally, and if the battery box design meets the
    certification requirements, he will not need to bail out, but simply land at an airport.

    Or you can simply land directly below the place your wings or fuselage melted. Venting fumes probably won't compensate for the heat of the battery fire.

    "Fumes" may not be a good choice of words for what is very hot gases. My understanding is
    "venting fumes" is not the certification requirement; instead, the battery box must
    protect the glider from the catastrophic failure of one cell, and the cell fire must not
    spread to other cells. Venting the gases overboard is part of the solution; a fire
    resistant box is another part. There may be additional measures used to meet the
    certification requirements, of course.

    --
    Eric Greenwell - USA
    - "A Guide to Self-launching Sailplane Operation"
    https://sites.google.com/site/motorgliders/publications

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Eric Greenwell@21:1/5 to Eric Greenwell on Sun Apr 10 10:01:05 2022
    On 4/8/2022 7:18 AM, Eric Greenwell wrote:
    Trying to get this into it's own thread - 1st try failed.

    On 4/6/2022 6:23 AM, kinsell wrote:
    The MGM HBC series controllers that were being used(not sure if they still are), can
    have a nasty electrical fire if there is a short between board layers. I know this from
    first hand experience. The fire stops as soon as power is removed. Very stinky.
    FWIW
    UH

    That's weird.  MGM-Compro is sposed to be a world leader in electrical propulsion
    systems.  If those guys can screw up, how are we going to get fool-proof zero maintenance
    ultra reliable electric motor gliders??

    I have good news for you: we have that glider already! And, it uses an FES propulsion.
    Talk to FES owners, monitor their news groups, and you'll discover what I did: the owners
    are very happy, and the news groups have very little conversation. Why is that? One dealer
    summed it up this way: "What's to talk about? You charge it, you fly it, repeat as desired."

    I'm surprised no one has disputed the claim FES gliders are (relatively) simple to
    operate, very low maintenance, highly reliable motorgliders. I don't think the claim is
    exaggerated, but I thought some might think so.

    --
    Eric Greenwell - USA
    - "A Guide to Self-launching Sailplane Operation"
    https://sites.google.com/site/motorgliders/publications

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From 2G@21:1/5 to Eric Greenwell on Sun Apr 10 11:43:53 2022
    On Sunday, April 10, 2022 at 10:01:10 AM UTC-7, Eric Greenwell wrote:
    On 4/8/2022 7:18 AM, Eric Greenwell wrote:
    Trying to get this into it's own thread - 1st try failed.

    On 4/6/2022 6:23 AM, kinsell wrote:
    The MGM HBC series controllers that were being used(not sure if they still are), can
    have a nasty electrical fire if there is a short between board layers. I know this from
    first hand experience. The fire stops as soon as power is removed. Very stinky.
    FWIW
    UH

    That's weird. MGM-Compro is sposed to be a world leader in electrical propulsion
    systems. If those guys can screw up, how are we going to get fool-proof zero maintenance
    ultra reliable electric motor gliders??

    I have good news for you: we have that glider already! And, it uses an FES propulsion.
    Talk to FES owners, monitor their news groups, and you'll discover what I did: the owners
    are very happy, and the news groups have very little conversation. Why is that? One dealer
    summed it up this way: "What's to talk about? You charge it, you fly it, repeat as desired."

    I'm surprised no one has disputed the claim FES gliders are (relatively) simple to
    operate, very low maintenance, highly reliable motorgliders. I don't think the claim is
    exaggerated, but I thought some might think so.
    --
    Eric Greenwell - USA
    - "A Guide to Self-launching Sailplane Operation" https://sites.google.com/site/motorgliders/publications

    Let me take these points one at a time.

    Fool Proof

    That would be a machine that is totally immune to ANY unusual action taken by the pilot OR the crew. This concept, in a word, is ludicrous. Those of us who design systems run by others refer to them as being "fool resistant," instead.

    Zero Maintenance

    Zero, as they say, means ZERO. Surely you must be joking; there is no such thing as a "zero maintenance" aircraft.

    Ultra-Reliable

    You don't define what you mean by "ultra-reliable," but it must be at a level that the FAA uses in assessing the reliability of an essential system. Manufacturers typically achieve this level thru redundancy, as designing a system with a single point of
    failure component with this reliability level is exceedingly difficult. Even then, redundant systems can still have an inadvertent single point of failure component; witness the Sioux City DC-10 accident (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Airlines_
    Flight_232).

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From George Haeh@21:1/5 to All on Sun Apr 10 16:21:09 2022
    Glider club proof is the highest level of robustness and reliability.

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Eric Greenwell@21:1/5 to Eric Greenwell on Sun Apr 10 19:07:25 2022
    On 4/10/2022 10:01 AM, Eric Greenwell wrote:
    On 4/8/2022 7:18 AM, Eric Greenwell wrote:
    Trying to get this into it's own thread - 1st try failed.

    On 4/6/2022 6:23 AM, kinsell wrote:
    The MGM HBC series controllers that were being used(not sure if they still are), can
    have a nasty electrical fire if there is a short between board layers. I know this from
    first hand experience. The fire stops as soon as power is removed. Very stinky.
    FWIW
    UH
    ;
    That's weird.  MGM-Compro is sposed to be a world leader in electrical propulsion
    systems.  If those guys can screw up, how are we going to get fool-proof zero
    maintenance ultra reliable electric motor gliders??

    I have good news for you: we have that glider already! And, it uses an FES propulsion.
    Talk to FES owners, monitor their news groups, and you'll discover what I did: the
    owners are very happy, and the news groups have very little conversation. Why is that?
    One dealer summed it up this way: "What's to talk about? You charge it, you fly it,
    repeat as desired."

    I'm surprised no one has disputed the claim FES gliders are (relatively) simple to
    operate, very low maintenance, highly reliable motorgliders. I don't think the claim is
    exaggerated, but I thought some might think so.

    I haven't heard from anyone disputing my remarks about FES gliders, but I did hear from
    the owner of an FES glider, who also owns a very nice gas glider:

    "The FES system is almost as reliable as a bird flapping its wings.
    The need to read the manuals and follow limitations falls on a human.
    So battery care and weather element care might be forgotten maintenance by humans.
    The birds just need to find food and not become food.
    So FES is close to zero but not without fool-proof reliability."

    --
    Eric Greenwell - USA
    - "A Guide to Self-launching Sailplane Operation"
    https://sites.google.com/site/motorgliders/publications

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Tony@21:1/5 to Eric Greenwell on Mon Apr 11 03:59:37 2022
    On Sunday, April 10, 2022 at 10:07:35 PM UTC-4, Eric Greenwell wrote:
    On 4/10/2022 10:01 AM, Eric Greenwell wrote:
    On 4/8/2022 7:18 AM, Eric Greenwell wrote:
    Trying to get this into it's own thread - 1st try failed.

    On 4/6/2022 6:23 AM, kinsell wrote:
    The MGM HBC series controllers that were being used(not sure if they still are), can
    have a nasty electrical fire if there is a short between board layers. I know this from
    first hand experience. The fire stops as soon as power is removed. Very stinky.
    FWIW
    UH

    That's weird. MGM-Compro is sposed to be a world leader in electrical propulsion
    systems. If those guys can screw up, how are we going to get fool-proof zero
    maintenance ultra reliable electric motor gliders??

    I have good news for you: we have that glider already! And, it uses an FES propulsion.
    Talk to FES owners, monitor their news groups, and you'll discover what I did: the
    owners are very happy, and the news groups have very little conversation. Why is that?
    One dealer summed it up this way: "What's to talk about? You charge it, you fly it,
    repeat as desired."

    I'm surprised no one has disputed the claim FES gliders are (relatively) simple to
    operate, very low maintenance, highly reliable motorgliders. I don't think the claim is
    exaggerated, but I thought some might think so.

    I haven't heard from anyone disputing my remarks about FES gliders, but I did hear from
    the owner of an FES glider, who also owns a very nice gas glider:

    "The FES system is almost as reliable as a bird flapping its wings.
    The need to read the manuals and follow limitations falls on a human.
    So battery care and weather element care might be forgotten maintenance by humans.
    The birds just need to find food and not become food.
    So FES is close to zero but not without fool-proof reliability."
    --
    Eric Greenwell - USA
    - "A Guide to Self-launching Sailplane Operation" https://sites.google.com/site/motorgliders/publications
    They'll just make a better fool. It's like an arms race!

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Shaun Wheeler@21:1/5 to Mark Mocho on Mon Apr 11 09:30:17 2022
    On Friday, April 8, 2022 at 9:35:09 AM UTC-5, Mark Mocho wrote:
    If those guys can screw up, how are we going to get fool-proof zero maintenance
    ultra reliable electric motor gliders??
    Anything more complex than a rock is probably never going to qualify as fool-proof, zero maintenance and ultra reliable.

    It doesn't help that the department in charge of engineering fools has a better budget, no limits on overtime and a real aptitude for getting new models into production.

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Mark Mocho@21:1/5 to All on Mon Apr 11 11:35:14 2022
    It doesn't help that the department in charge of engineering fools has a better budget, no limits on overtime and a real aptitude for getting new models into production.

    There is a finite amount of intelligence in the world, and the population is increasing rapidly. Do the math.

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From John Smith@21:1/5 to Mark Mocho on Mon Apr 18 17:47:39 2022
    On Friday, April 8, 2022 at 7:35:09 AM UTC-7, Mark Mocho wrote:
    If those guys can screw up, how are we going to get fool-proof zero maintenance
    ultra reliable electric motor gliders??
    Anything more complex than a rock is probably never going to qualify as fool-proof, zero maintenance and ultra reliable.

    Not sure rocks are fool proof. There's a reason you don't put two rock and a US Marine in a closed room....They will lose one and break the other. :)


    John
    US Marine Vet.

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Mark Mocho@21:1/5 to All on Mon Apr 18 19:50:14 2022
    Not sure rocks are fool proof. There's a reason you don't put two rock and a US Marine in a closed room....They will lose one and break the other. :)

    Perhaps Marines were not envisioned at the time fools were originally created.

    Not a Marine, but grateful they exist.

    Also grateful I am not a Marine quartermaster, although job security is guaranteed.

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From RW@21:1/5 to Eric Greenwell on Wed Apr 20 12:15:19 2022
    On Sunday, April 10, 2022 at 7:07:35 PM UTC-7, Eric Greenwell wrote:
    On 4/10/2022 10:01 AM, Eric Greenwell wrote:
    On 4/8/2022 7:18 AM, Eric Greenwell wrote:
    Trying to get this into it's own thread - 1st try failed.

    On 4/6/2022 6:23 AM, kinsell wrote:
    The MGM HBC series controllers that were being used(not sure if they still are), can
    have a nasty electrical fire if there is a short between board layers. I know this from
    first hand experience. The fire stops as soon as power is removed. Very stinky.
    FWIW
    UH

    That's weird. MGM-Compro is sposed to be a world leader in electrical propulsion
    systems. If those guys can screw up, how are we going to get fool-proof zero
    maintenance ultra reliable electric motor gliders??

    I have good news for you: we have that glider already! And, it uses an FES propulsion.
    Talk to FES owners, monitor their news groups, and you'll discover what I did: the
    owners are very happy, and the news groups have very little conversation. Why is that?
    One dealer summed it up this way: "What's to talk about? You charge it, you fly it,
    repeat as desired."

    I'm surprised no one has disputed the claim FES gliders are (relatively) simple to
    operate, very low maintenance, highly reliable motorgliders. I don't think the claim is
    exaggerated, but I thought some might think so.

    I haven't heard from anyone disputing my remarks about FES gliders, but I did hear from
    the owner of an FES glider, who also owns a very nice gas glider:

    "The FES system is almost as reliable as a bird flapping its wings.
    The need to read the manuals and follow limitations falls on a human.
    So battery care and weather element care might be forgotten maintenance by humans.
    The birds just need to find food and not become food.
    So FES is close to zero but not without fool-proof reliability."
    --
    Eric Greenwell - USA
    - "A Guide to Self-launching Sailplane Operation" https://sites.google.com/site/motorgliders/publications
    Eric,
    FES system incorporates Reed switch(aka contactor, aka proximity sensor) to monitor closed canopy.
    Those switches brake. Broken switch prevents activating FES.
    I undersood, broken Reed switch prevented use of GP14 electric propulsion in Sebastian Kawa hard landing accident.(not a FES)
    The main reason I sell almost 1000/yr of those switches in tiny market of NJ gas stations is: they do brake.
    Ryszard Krolikowski

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Martin Gregorie@21:1/5 to All on Wed Apr 20 20:22:39 2022
    On Wed, 20 Apr 2022 12:15:19 -0700 (PDT), RW wrote:

    FES system incorporates Reed switch(aka contactor, aka proximity sensor)
    to monitor closed canopy.
    Those switches brake. Broken switch prevents activating FES.
    I undersood, broken Reed switch prevented use of GP14 electric
    propulsion in Sebastian Kawa hard landing accident.(not a FES)
    The main reason I sell almost 1000/yr of those switches in tiny market
    of NJ gas stations is: they do brake.
    Ryszard Krolikowski

    Simple, CHEAP, obvious solution: add a green LED that is on when sensor
    says canopy is closed and locked.

    --
    --
    Martin | martin at
    Gregorie | gregorie dot org

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Eric Greenwell@21:1/5 to All on Wed Apr 20 16:43:37 2022
    On 4/20/2022 12:15 PM, RW wrote:
    On Sunday, April 10, 2022 at 7:07:35 PM UTC-7, Eric Greenwell wrote:

    I have good news for you: we have that glider already! And, it uses an FES propulsion.
    Talk to FES owners, monitor their news groups, and you'll discover what I did: the
    owners are very happy, and the news groups have very little conversation. Why is that?
    One dealer summed it up this way: "What's to talk about? You charge it, you fly it,
    repeat as desired."

    I'm surprised no one has disputed the claim FES gliders are (relatively) simple to
    operate, very low maintenance, highly reliable motorgliders. I don't think the claim is
    exaggerated, but I thought some might think so.

    I haven't heard from anyone disputing my remarks about FES gliders, but I did hear from
    the owner of an FES glider, who also owns a very nice gas glider:

    "The FES system is almost as reliable as a bird flapping its wings.
    The need to read the manuals and follow limitations falls on a human.
    So battery care and weather element care might be forgotten maintenance by humans.
    The birds just need to find food and not become food.
    So FES is close to zero but not without fool-proof reliability."
    --
    Eric Greenwell - USA
    - "A Guide to Self-launching Sailplane Operation"
    https://sites.google.com/site/motorgliders/publications
    Eric,
    FES system incorporates Reed switch(aka contactor, aka proximity sensor) to monitor closed canopy.
    Those switches brake. Broken switch prevents activating FES.
    I undersood, broken Reed switch prevented use of GP14 electric propulsion in Sebastian Kawa hard landing accident.(not a FES)
    The main reason I sell almost 1000/yr of those switches in tiny market of NJ gas stations is: they do brake.
    Ryszard Krolikowski

    The reed switch itself is extremely reliable, but it is possible to mount it poorly or
    connect it to circuity improperly, and those are the major causes of failure. The GP14
    accident illustrates that: the mounting exposed the switch assembly to external damage.
    After the accident, the design was changed to switches that could be easily protected from
    damage.

    I don't know how many gas pumps NJ has, or how many switches are in each pump, but it
    sounds like there was a problem in design, manufacturing, or maintenance.
    --
    Eric Greenwell - USA
    - "A Guide to Self-launching Sailplane Operation"
    https://sites.google.com/site/motorgliders/publications

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Matthew Scutter@21:1/5 to All on Wed Apr 20 16:47:48 2022
    FES system incorporates Reed switch(aka contactor, aka proximity sensor)
    to monitor closed canopy.
    Those switches brake. Broken switch prevents activating FES.

    I don't know where you got this idea about the FES.
    As you can see documented in the manuals after three increasingly aggressive warnings, it lets you start the FES, even with a broken switch.
    https://www.front-electric-sustainer.com/Manuals/FES%20FCU%20INSTRUMENT%20manual%20v1.93.pdf

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Eric Greenwell@21:1/5 to Martin Gregorie on Wed Apr 20 16:52:01 2022
    On 4/20/2022 1:22 PM, Martin Gregorie wrote:
    On Wed, 20 Apr 2022 12:15:19 -0700 (PDT), RW wrote:

    FES system incorporates Reed switch(aka contactor, aka proximity sensor)
    to monitor closed canopy.
    Those switches brake. Broken switch prevents activating FES.
    I undersood, broken Reed switch prevented use of GP14 electric
    propulsion in Sebastian Kawa hard landing accident.(not a FES)
    The main reason I sell almost 1000/yr of those switches in tiny market
    of NJ gas stations is: they do brake.
    Ryszard Krolikowski

    Simple, CHEAP, obvious solution: add a green LED that is on when sensor
    says canopy is closed and locked.

    When the canopy is open, running the FES might cause the blades to strike the canopy
    before they open completely. The sensor is there to protect the blades and the canopy
    during the ground run of the motor that is part of the preflight.

    --
    Eric Greenwell - USA
    - "A Guide to Self-launching Sailplane Operation"
    https://sites.google.com/site/motorgliders/publications

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From kinsell@21:1/5 to Eric Greenwell on Thu Apr 21 11:34:08 2022
    On 4/10/22 10:29, Eric Greenwell wrote:
    On 4/10/2022 8:37 AM, Mark Mocho wrote:

    The pilot's fresh air vents still work normally, and if the battery
    box design meets the
    certification requirements, he will not need to bail out, but simply
    land at an airport.

    Or you can simply land directly below the place your wings or fuselage
    melted. Venting fumes probably won't compensate for the heat of the
    battery fire.

    "Fumes" may not be a good choice of words for what is very hot gases. My understanding is "venting fumes" is not the certification requirement; instead, the battery box must protect the glider from the catastrophic failure of one cell, and the cell fire must not spread to other cells. Venting the gases overboard is part of the solution; a fire resistant
    box is another part. There may be additional measures used to meet the certification requirements, of course.


    So really it just boils down to a placard issue: "Spontaneous Rapid
    Disassembly of the battery box prohibited".

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Lukas Etz@21:1/5 to All on Thu Apr 21 14:02:36 2022
    RW schrieb am Mittwoch, 20. April 2022 um 21:15:23 UTC+2:
    On Sunday, April 10, 2022 at 7:07:35 PM UTC-7, Eric Greenwell wrote:
    On 4/10/2022 10:01 AM, Eric Greenwell wrote:
    On 4/8/2022 7:18 AM, Eric Greenwell wrote:
    Trying to get this into it's own thread - 1st try failed.

    On 4/6/2022 6:23 AM, kinsell wrote:
    The MGM HBC series controllers that were being used(not sure if they still are), can
    have a nasty electrical fire if there is a short between board layers. I know this from
    first hand experience. The fire stops as soon as power is removed. Very stinky.
    FWIW
    UH

    That's weird. MGM-Compro is sposed to be a world leader in electrical propulsion
    systems. If those guys can screw up, how are we going to get fool-proof zero
    maintenance ultra reliable electric motor gliders??

    I have good news for you: we have that glider already! And, it uses an FES propulsion.
    Talk to FES owners, monitor their news groups, and you'll discover what I did: the
    owners are very happy, and the news groups have very little conversation. Why is that?
    One dealer summed it up this way: "What's to talk about? You charge it, you fly it,
    repeat as desired."

    I'm surprised no one has disputed the claim FES gliders are (relatively) simple to
    operate, very low maintenance, highly reliable motorgliders. I don't think the claim is
    exaggerated, but I thought some might think so.

    I haven't heard from anyone disputing my remarks about FES gliders, but I did hear from
    the owner of an FES glider, who also owns a very nice gas glider:

    "The FES system is almost as reliable as a bird flapping its wings.
    The need to read the manuals and follow limitations falls on a human.
    So battery care and weather element care might be forgotten maintenance by humans.
    The birds just need to find food and not become food.
    So FES is close to zero but not without fool-proof reliability."
    --
    Eric Greenwell - USA
    - "A Guide to Self-launching Sailplane Operation" https://sites.google.com/site/motorgliders/publications
    Eric,
    FES system incorporates Reed switch(aka contactor, aka proximity sensor) to monitor closed canopy.
    Those switches brake. Broken switch prevents activating FES.
    I undersood, broken Reed switch prevented use of GP14 electric propulsion in Sebastian Kawa hard landing accident.(not a FES)
    The main reason I sell almost 1000/yr of those switches in tiny market of NJ gas stations is: they do brake.
    Ryszard Krolikowski

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)