Hi… I’ve been monitoring my power use for several years on my homebuilt single prop unit. The wing makes a HUGE difference. I was flying an older EN B wing from Skywalk and was using 1.3Ah/minute, on a 14S 40 Ah battery.
With a new Mentor 6, small (26m flat), I can use as little as 0.9 Ah/minute.
And remember, your useable capacity in a Li ion battery is 80% of the rated capacity… if you want your battery to last that is…
I am using a Rotex 15 kW motor that I limit RPM to 2400 through the MGM controller, which gives me 11.5 kW for takeoff. I’m an 80 kg pilot and the power is more than sufficient. The ability to limit RPM or input current is highly useful I’ve found, as well as good telemetry. I’ve used the Cockpit V2 to wireless monitor voltage, power, rpm and temps.
with the Mentor 6, I climb nicely at 5 kW power input and cruise at 2-3 kW. My 4 year old 40 ah battery still gives me 35 minutes flight time on this wing.
A mate who flies the newest E-glider does even better: achieving something like 0.6 ah/minute. He is flying a 36 Ah battery at 15S (2 kWh) and can easily accomplish an hours flight time with the Mentor 6 in the right conditions.
The result is that flight times can increase greatly if you are into the art of paragliding, and not just mowing the sky…