Hi, me again.
I've been exploring going all-electric and was looking at the B&C
Specialties alternators that run off the vacuum pump PTO on the Rotax
914. An extra 5-10 Amps would be quite nice to have, as well as the
redundancy, given that only about 10-12A is left over for everything in
the plane after the engine pumps and computer take their portion.
The little 8-amp alternator would be great, except for the fact that the
Rotax PTO runs at only 54% engine speed, which at typical cruise RPMs is
below the knee of the alternator's output curve - only 3.2 to 4.3 A are
available. Their 20-A alternator could also be used, and would generate
about 10A, but it's twice as heavy and quite tall.
Bill at B&C told me that someone at Sun'n'Fun claimed to have made a
simple change to the PTO gearing in the engine block to get the PTO RPMs
up to the 3500 range that these alternators prefer. So - anybody know
anything about this? Is this possible without tearing the engine block
apart, and, more importantly, voiding the warranty? Anyone install the
20A alternator?
Yep, you guessed it, the prop will be electric, too. Motorglider.
Thanks,
Shaun Simpkins
A207
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