Best Aircraft at Oshksoh 2011

Long time readers are aware of my interest and experimentation in electric aircraft.  Here's the first one I've seen that appeals to me.  It had reasonable performance, length of flight, and simplicity.

My attempts to fly the Belite with electrics have produced a very good, very short flight.  I'd shelved the project until I had some inspiration worth working on.

I learned a lot from this plane.  Got my inspiration back.

The Electric Belite that wasn't at Sun N Fun

We didn't announce an electric airplane at Sun N Fun ... but I did fly an electric Belite late last year.  I was very surprised that I posted so many hints about our work in this area... got no response.

This particular project wasn't far enough along to bring to Sun N Fun, but it sure did fly nice.

Ultralight Aircraft with Electric Motor

Electric Ultralight Aircraft takeoff roll

Electric Ultralight Aircraft takes off

This electric ultralight aircraft was capable of excellent performance with short battery life.  It took too long to recharge.  I still give it thought, but haven't worked on it this year.  Should I?

Belite Batteries demonstrate their power!

There are many things to do in preparation for the first public showing of our electric airplane. 

(I call the plane the Electric Lite.)

One item on the preparation list is a battery test.

There's nothing like a bunch of very high capacity lithium batteries to put smoke into a building when showing their power during a discharge test.  That's exactly what happened when we first tested our batteries, about a year ago.  Here's the video we made at the time, which has never before been seen or posted:

Some of the technical details of this battery test are contained within the video.

It's not much to look at -- just batteries, enormous dummy load resistors, a lot of smoke, and a room that got warmer and warmer as the test progressed.  But maybe, just maybe, you'll enjoy looking at it and wondering:  what is Belite up to?

Please watch and enjoy!

If you want to receive formal information from Belite on our electric airplane, you must register here.

If you are interested in partnering with Belite in electric aircraft development, please correspond with me directly:  james at beliteaircraft dot com

Sneak Pictures of Belite's Batteries

Earlier today, I had a conversation with my marketing manager, Kathy.  She also happens to be my wife and business partner.

"I think I'd like to start posting some more information on my blog concerning our electric airplane design," I said.  "But I won't really release any information -- I'll just create some teasing posts which show elements of our design.  Then, when we're ready to announce our progress more formally, we'll hopefully have more people attuned to what's coming."

Kathy said that sounded like a fine idea.

So, without further ado, here is a photo of a battery pack I found lying around our production facility:

LiFe04 Battery Assembly at Belite Enterprises

This particular battery is part of an electric battery system with the following selected characteristics: