{"id":7463,"date":"2013-02-13T23:16:19","date_gmt":"2013-02-14T06:16:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cafe.foundation\/blog\/?p=7463"},"modified":"2013-02-13T23:16:19","modified_gmt":"2013-02-14T06:16:19","slug":"a-tea-room-in-the-sky","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/cafe.foundation\/blog\/a-tea-room-in-the-sky\/","title":{"rendered":"A Tea Room in the Sky"},"content":{"rendered":"

Richard Glassock is an Australian graduate student and designer working in autonomous aircraft, long-distance sailboats, and a light hybrid power system<\/a> made from off-the-shelf model aircraft components. \u00a0He’s even made a design study of something that would really cause a stir in the world of electric sailplanes.<\/p>\n

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Twin booms, twin motors, eight seats and an alluring design<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cI just want to send you some pictures of a concept model I\u2019m working on. The idea is for a 6- seat sailplane, I thought about this 10 or 15 years ago when I first started getting to cloudbase in a hang glider. It is a magical world, particularly in an open air type vehicle: wouldn\u2019t it be wonderful to share with friends. \u00a0Now it seems to have turned out to be an 8-seat [sailplane with] twin electric propulsion. Somehow the canopy will stow for open top operations, while there is room for the bathroom, coffee machine, oven etc. Designed for cloudbase tea and scones [or a] gliding chess club with excellent views, [it would also make] a really great venue for corporate meetings\u2026 a way to stimulate creativity.<\/p>\n

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Imagine gliding silently to cloud base with seven of your best friends (there might be some wind noise)<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cI realize the weight will present some trouble keeping it\u00a0slow enough at a good sink rate, but there\u2019s so often really good thermals and clouds, if only you can get there. Also we don\u2019t want too much trouble towing, so I think it\u2019s worth base-lining self-propulsion, so long as it is quiet and smooth. The booms are to house the motors\u2019 batteries and series hybrid engine away from the cabin, and high to try to preserve the view. Electric fans have the nice feature of being able to easily mount on annular motors without gearing. The 42 meter (137 feet, 9 inches) wingspan will make it difficult to operate from small fields, but around here we have excellent soaring opportunities close to larger regional airfields like Kingaroy, and Coolangatta. I imagine this would be the case all over the world. The aerotow using something like a Caravan, would be only 10 minutes or so, then just a matter to \u00a0get to good thermal lift with the auxiliary motors, and with hybrid propulsion, there\u2019d never be a need to outland.\u201d<\/p>\n

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The configuration would lend itself to other, perhaps smaller, designs<\/p><\/div>\n

The configuration may give inspiration to other designers, and the audacity of the idea is certainly full of high-flown hope.\u00a0 Imagine such a vehicle used for children\u2019s birthday parties, or wedding receptions, or royal coronations.\u00a0 Imagination is a wonderful thing, and in this case, worthy of being made real. \u00a0Richard’s web site<\/a> shows more of his far-reaching ideas.<\/p>\n