I have a crazy idea, and want it to get shot down before I put a bunch of research into it:
Just had the Kawasaki 440 Motor on my Power 2 Fly Fenix tandem trike suffer a catastrophic failure, so I’m considering converting it to electric instead of buying a new internal combustion motor. I understand the SP140 motor and battery might not be up to powering a heavy tandem trike like the Fenix, but do you think the tandem Fenix is just too heavy a trike to be practical for an electric motor? I would be happy with at least 25 minute flight time.
I know about P2F Fenix because he is my friend Im living close to P2F company
Im not sure that will be possible, Fenix is to heavy for SP140 setup.
I think thats not a good idea.
Kaw 440 Power output: 38 hp (28 kW) at 5000 rpm
SP140 is 25kW Max
I cant see any specs on the P2F tandem but I would think you would want something around 35kW. to get 25min the SP140 batteries wont handle the continuous power needs— edit, 4 packs parallel should be good…
I really appreciate the detailed feedback. 4 packs plus a Geiger or MGM motor plus ESC, etc. sounds cost-prohibitive, so I think I’ll just have to buy another Kawasaki 440 and hire a good mechanic.
I’m sure you are right. Do you think a setup with a Geiger or MGM motor and multiple battery packs could work? Or am I fighting an uphill battle with such a heavy trike as the Fenix?
Its all about power and money, ok, money. If you have the money you can get all the power out there. Aeros Ant E trike has been using Gieger for many years now and a solid reputation but more costly. I just started researching MGM and no pricing yet.They want you to give a ton of info of your old ICE set up to give you a good comparison of what they can provide.
Yes E versions are more costly upfront.
I look at it from the hassle and money point of view. E is hassle free, well, far less then ICE. Very little maintenace of the E version and much lower running cost just based on the electric car industry info. We only us the ICE truck when nessary when our Bolt is being used. I would guestamate that owning electric now is a 5 year ROI compared to ICE cost but you dont have the hassle of fuel/oil mixing, engine warm up, smelly fuel tranportion, carb cleaning, oil spitting all over the prop, and all the maintenance with ICE(2 stroke). How much is that worth to you is an individual question.
Last year I got a new ICE Engine (regret) from HE and nothing but hassle to get it running. You might have to change bearings in the an electric motor every 300hrs? Thats something I have not looked at yet. But that is way easier, cleaner and less costly than any 2 stroke 300hr service IMHO. But I guess it depends on ones hassle tolerance and money you have as stated.
You didnt give details of the 440 failure, was it a simple thing that you could have avoided that Electric would have not been an issue with?
You have a lot to think about. I think writing this has conviced me to go electric sooner rather then later🤣.
Im biased towards electric though. My background in education is electronic engineering technologist so I got trained to hate working on oil engines🤣
I do wish batteries had more power at this time, its coming, another 5 years! My calculations for my conversion shows me at 30lbs more for a 20kwh battery replacing my HE engine. But my large delta soaring wing can take it, just not giving me range. But I will just be giong close around the airstripe for the next 2 years.
From what i see it they only do solo trike setups and no tandem, If you were just looking for a solo trike setup the Sp140 power pack would be great but once you’re in the range of 2 people then there are a lot fewer low-cost options.
You won’t get any specialist knowledge this way. You get specialist knowledge by working with it yourself or reading specialist articles in books, magazines and of course in forums. I personally see the point in a forum as a lot of knowledge is stored here that is available to everyone. If you don’t want to read, that’s OK, but you probably won’t have any success in building an eppg or e-trike.
I think it was a custoom build from Electravia (aka E-props) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electravia
It was in 2011 but they have stopped electric motor to build the propellers we use today
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