Scenario: you have 2L of fuel left, in tiger territory, and going to make a precautionary landing.
Do you:
- climb at Vy then glide at Vbg once the fuel cuts out
- climb at Vbg until the fuel cuts out, then glide at Vbg
- cruise at Vbg, then glide at Vbg
Vbg has the lowest drag, but Vy has the most power available (and presumably the best efficiency from the prop). in most planes they're pretty similar, but you can imagine a plane with an ultra-climb prop that has Vy much lower than Vbg.
the crazy idea I had today:
- auxiliary electric power hybrid plane.
this comes from the electric lazair thread:
if you have a plane with a 55HP main engine, could you put a second centreline thrust electric engine of about 10HP capacity, and enough batteries for 15 minutes of operation, and maybe 20HP in a life or death situation (the engine will overheat and need to be rebuilt, etc).
the two scenarios where this engine would be turned on:
- at takeoff, to make EFATO a less scary situation because you still have some thrust (especially if tuned for the right speed)
- in flight engine failure - to get some extra height or thrust at the right moment
- airbrakes on final approach - used to recharge the batteries
this system would weight about 10-15kg or about the same as a ballistic chute.