E-Gull status?

[13brv3@bellsouth.net]

Greetings,

What's the current status of the E-Gull? I was watching them a few years ago, and hoped they'd become more common, or standardized, but when I search for it now I don't see anything more recent than 2014. Is anyone still flying one? Do conversion parts exist if I were to buy a used Gull 2000?

Thanks,
Rusty

[earthstaraircraft]

Hi Rusty
Yes the eGull is steadily improving but we are also standerdisied
With the Zero motorcycle power train. It is working extremely well.
Google search eGull we will have some new stuff soon.
It's a relatively easy conversion.
And the battery is god for 3000 charge cycles at 1 hr of flying time per cycle. At $1 of electricity per hr of flight time.
happy Flying
Mark
Sent from my iPhone

[13brv3@bellsouth.net]

Thanks Mark. I think I've seen everything Google can find, so it will be great to see new info.

I'm sure I'm not the only one who would like to have some idea of the cost of the electric parts. Are we talking the same as a 2-stroke, half as much, twice as much?

Also, since I'm starting to look for a Gull to convert, is the 20ft wing a bad choice, or just not as good as the 28ft wing. I'd worry about loosing responsiveness with the longer wing, but aside from videos, I haven't seen a Gull fly, so maybe it's not a concern.

Thanks,
Rusty

[zadwit]

5-6K I think but Mark B. hinted to me one day, he said buy a zero motorcycle and use all the parts off ità.
Not sure about batteries however there is a chinese place called Alibaba.com I think , it is like ebay but has all kinds of cheap stuff. I got high quality li-po battery pack for my electric bike conversion. The pack I have will take me 40 miles between charges, but they also have raw battieries a guy could build his one packà and save a bundleà

I think Mark is just getting his from some vendor with the idea of some day it being part of the kit to install electric.

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[zadwit]

Ive been really upset the last few days. My mom and dad grew up in the depression and so worked hard and saved hard. They had 3 girls one boy(me). My dad passed away a year ago at 95 and mom 5 months later at 93. What I did not know was my dad made my gave my older sister accress to all hisproperty and money with the idea she take care of him and my mom if they got disables (alheizmers) and then after they passed she was to divide up what was left. She and her hubby worked for the IRS criminal investiagion branch and are real crooksà Anyway my dad dies and the sister grabbes all the money and lawyers up and wont talk to any of us. Left my mom stranded so I had to fly to Alaska 5 times and help move her in with my youngest sister and then help them sell the house, only to find outthe crooked sister got the lawyer to put a lein on the house saying it was ¢ the sisters!!!!!!!!!! Incredible.

We had no idea she was this way. Anyway there is nothing we can do but I lay away sometimes at night thinking I might go to the annual Texas rattle snake roundup. Hang a few by their tails like missletoe(I miss her so much!) toss a few in her car around her doorà

I wont do itbut I think of these things. We are all screwed by a rotten greedy sisteràà.and it really hurt my 93yr old mom who didnÆt have a mean bone in her bodyàjust a hard hard lifeàà..

Anyway I think I will go bak and work on my plane a little to get my mind off all this crapà.

Elelctric is the future. Ill try to post something on here if I can call the kitty hawk flying carà.its not really a car but I think at 10K it will sell like crazy when it hits the market soon.outube


https://youtu.be/oMAgQepUonw





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[zadwit]

One thing about it , Mark B. is doing all the heavy lifting on sorting out what works and what don’t work on the electric plane and if you or I did it, we could waste thousands of dollars experimenting….
He is a smart guy and and Think he will figure it out. He hasn’t given up on it so seems he is committed to making it work..

Once again the wind is howlig here at Davenport so I have my gull tied to a tractor and a big tree. Thunderstorms forcast for he next few evenings….

Mark Smith
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[mkoxxy]

eGulls are alive and well. I just took mine back out to the airfield (keep
the fuselage in my shop during the winter) and made a few flights, 6
landings. It is as much fun as I remembered from last season - had a blast!

I can easily take off on 20kW and use the full 40kW only to show off.
Loitering at 8 to 12 kW is so quiet I can take my headset off. In fact, as
Mark B predicted, I hardly look at my ASI any more, and at the altimeter
mostly in the pattern. The rest is by feel and wind noise. As an
Ultralight, I'm not allowed to fly faster than 65 mph, but that is fine
with me. If pushed, the plane will easily go 100mph - controls get a little
heavier and wind noise increases, but no sign of flutter.

The 28-foot wing is the right choice, especially if you opt for max battery
(heavy!). A little more difficult to transport and install, but still very
responsive in the air. Richard Steeves has flown both wings on his eGull -
Richard, how do they compare?

The only thing I would do differently: get the largest battery. The 5.6 kWh
in my eGull are only good for 30 to 40 minutes (without reserve), which
keeps me from straying too far from my home field. The most important
instrument is the one that tells me how much charge I have left. Talk about
range anxiety!

Using Zero Motorcycle powertrain components was the right choice. Maybe not
leading edge, but reliable and fully developed. Bluetooth communication
with the controller saves on wiring, regenerative braking, and all sorts of
safety features are already built in. For example, you cannot start the
motor while the charging cord is connected, or, the controller will limit
current when one of the main components get close to overheating (which has
never happened in my eGull).

I plug in after every flight. 5-6 hours on 115V will give a full charge.
The FBO does not even charge me for the electricity.

I plan to upgrade my battery next winter. Zero will have increased battery
capacity by then, possibly to near 15kWh.

[earthstaraircraft]

Hi Mark Smith
We use the battery's from the bike.
It does not work any other way!
Happy Flying
Mark beierle

Sent from my iPhone

[13brv3@bellsouth.net]

Thanks for the great information Martin!

Is that 30-40min flight time cruising at UL legal speed? I had read comments about 40 min duration, but didn't know if that was at normal cruise, or min power cruise. It does sound like the smaller batteries are going to be more of a limitation than I'd want. I assume the larger ones probably take it out of UL consideration? I read something about volume equaling 5gal of fuel, but I don't know how big these batteries are.

I was really hoping Tesla would come up with batteries that would be useful to us, but I'm not sure if that's happening or not. I'll keep watching for info as it develops.

Thanks,
Rusty

[earthstaraircraft]

Hi Rusty
Many people are Flying as an ultralight with the big zero battery completely un challenged.
63 mph is the most efficient speed!
Happy Flying,
Mark

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