Electric aircraft with folding wings

Hello. Here is some information about my folding wing plane. This is a full-size model of a small single-seater whose wings fold and unfold easily and quickly thanks to a process of my invention. A hitch system also allows it to be towed over short distances without the need of a trailer. At the moment it is not flying. For it to fly it will probably have to be rebuilt almost completely!

Its characteristics are as follows:

Wingspan: 6.55m

Length: 4.32m

Wing chord: 0.82m

Wing area: 5.3m2

Current weight: 115kg, with 30kg of ballast and a 5kg electric motor

Max expected weight: 220kg with 40kg battery and an 80kg driver

Wing load at 220kg: 40kg / m2

Motor: It is designed to receive a 25kw electric motor ( Plus possibly 2 engines on the wings. See below: « ELECTRIC TRIMOTOR »)

Below are 2 videos, one showing the folding of the wings and the other showing the plane being towed by a car.

THE PRINCIPLE:

The rod ends allows the wing to pivot horizontally forward and backward, it also allows it to pivot vertically about 10 ° to cover the other wing. Thus the wings can overlap and take up little space on the fuselage.

Each wing is supported by a mast fitted with rod ends

Calculations must be made to determine the choice of these rod ends

The rear rod ends can be replaced by other fixing systems (pin type)

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BALANCE:

The plane is balanced at 30% of the chord with 30kg of ballast in the front, which would be batteries on the flying plane. You can put up to 40kg of batteries, including 15k on the floor in front of the seat. The engine weighs 5kg.

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THE ROTATION:

The rear wheels of the landing gear are set far enough back so that the aircraft does not tip over when the wings are folded. On takeoff this position will probably prevent the aircraft from rotating normally. When stopped you have to put 15kg on the elevator to tip it back, will the elevator generate enough downforce to tip it? I think that thanks to its panels it will be efficient, but it will undoubtedly be necessary to adjust the wings with a strong angle of incidence to facilitate the takeoff.

Elevator: Monobloc. 1.70m x 0.55m. 0.93m2. 12% thickness, symmetrical.

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OTHER POSSIBILITIES OF FOLDING THE WINGS:

1: By cutting the vertical fin so that the wings can pass above. So they are perfectly parallel and the aircraft is better balanced when towed on the road.

2: By releasing the ailerons and folding them against the rudder. This is arguably the simplest solution, which can be chosen for long journeys.

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THE LANDING GEAR

The landing gear looks a bit like that of WW1 planes! I chose this solution because it is the one that best limits the variations of the track for traffic on the road. This one is a little too flexible, it would be necessary to space the legs to limit the flexibility. For long journeys it will be necessary to find wheels which are adapted to the road.

AILERONS:

Ailerons would be controlled with cables

ELECTRIC TRIMOTOR…

I planned a place on each wing to install 2 small auxiliary electric motors, of about 5kw each, with propellers from 24″ to 28″ They would be used for takeoff, and they would increase the efficiency of the elevator by blowing it. But the propeller should be able to remain horizontal in flight so as not to add drag …

To contact me:

L. Fabre

fabreflyingcar@orange.fr

… It’s because at first I wanted to build a flying car! I have reduced my ambitions… Watch the video. 11 years already!