Charly-Produkte’s electric ‘ascent aid’ for paragliders: out in the Spring

In spring 2011, Charly Produkte are planning to release their electric ‘ascent aid’ for paragliders to the market.

The prototype ‘E-Cruise’, the product of a collaboration by Werner Eck, Geiger Engineering, Electric Sports, Flytec, and Charly Produkte, has regularly been seen flying above the snow-clad fields of Germany:

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“Taking to the sky nearly noiseless like a bird, floating energy efficiently in the sky looking for thermal updrafts, being in complete harmony with nature”. This vision, says Charly-Produkte’s website, was the starting point for the development of the Scott-E which uses Flytec’s electric drive system.

The unit is much lighter than a paramotor, and its lack of cage plus retractable propeller means it has much lower drag to boot.

It is also maintenance-free and does not require feeding with fuel or oil.

Instead, its battery can be charged from a standard socket, and it costs around 60 Euro cents to fully charge. The battery will survive around 1,000 charging cycles. The company say the Flytec HPD-10’s energy efficiency conversion is a very impressive 94%.

Keep an eye on Charly-Produkte’s website to monitor progress – units are expected to be on sale from April 2011.

www.charly-produkte.de
www.flytec.ch