{"id":11262,"date":"2017-02-10T19:22:05","date_gmt":"2017-02-11T02:22:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cafe.foundation\/blog\/?p=11262"},"modified":"2017-02-10T19:22:05","modified_gmt":"2017-02-11T02:22:05","slug":"record-for-siemens-extra-electric-time-to-climb","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/cafe.foundation\/blog\/record-for-siemens-extra-electric-time-to-climb\/","title":{"rendered":"Record for Siemens, Extra Electric Time-to-Climb"},"content":{"rendered":"

Time-to-Climb is a tough record to beat, requiring an airplane with an excess of power, a skilled pilot, and just the right weather.\u00a0 Your editor was supremely lucky a few years ago to meet Bruce Bohannon, holder of 25 records<\/a>, including altitude and TTC marks to\u00a020,000, 30,000 and 40,000 feet.\u00a0 He managed these records in a modified Van\u2019s RV-4 with a Lycoming IO-540 engine pumping out a nitrous-oxide assisted 425 horsepower.\u00a0 The normal gross weight of an RV-4 is 1,500 pounds, for a power loading of 8.33 pounds per horsepower with a 180-horsepower engine.<\/p>\n

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Bohannon BO-1 Exxon Tiger set 25 records in its career<\/p><\/div>\n

Since the RV-4 normally flies with 180 to 200 horsepower, the additional 225 ponies helped Bohannon achieve some big numbers.\u00a0 His rate of climb to 3,000 meters (9,842 feet) was 4,407 feet per minute, besting the P-51D\u2019s 3,600 feet per minute or the F-8-F Bearcat\u2019s 4,500 feet per minute.<\/p>\n

An IO-540 weighs 199 kilograms, or 438 pounds (depending on configuration and accessories.\u00a0 An O-360 with 200 horsepower weighs 117 kilograms, or 258 pounds.\u00a0 Bohannon\u2019s airplane would have weighed 180 pounds more than a stock RV-4, depending on fuel load and other variables.\u00a0 The IO-540 would have been pulling a little less than four pounds per horsepower sky ward.\u00a0 This background helps us understand the significant achievement Walter Extra and Siemens Motors recently scored.<\/p>\n

On November 25, 2016, a Siemens-powered Extra 330LE aerobatic aircraft set a new world record for time to climb. \u00a0It reached 3,000 meters in just four minutes and 22 seconds, climbing at 11.5 meters per second or 2,263 feet per minute.\u00a0 This is the best so far for an electric airplane, beating Chip Yates\u2019 five minutes and 32 seconds in his modified Long-Eze in 2014. \u00a0Walter Extra did a great job of designing an airplane worthy of his piloting expertise, and flew it with precision.<\/p>\n

Although no video seems to be available for the record flight, YouTube includes this record of the July 4, 2016 test, in which Walter Extra flies his new creation and Dr. Frank Anton of Siemens congratulates him.<\/p>\n