Dan Holden

I am building a Mitchell U2 Superwing motorglider. It is a single seat flying wing in the pusher configuration. Original plans called for a 22 horsepower engine, but I plan to fit a 20 kW electric motor. The flight controls and surfaces are done with many of the control rods in carbon fiber. I plan to cover it with Oratex light. The main design goal is to have two hours endurance at 50 knots and remain under the part 103 (electric) empty weight limit of 284 lbs. I have built a mold for a carbon fiber seat and am experimenting with Raspberry Pi based flight instruments. The original plans called for folding wings, but my current thinking is to not build it that way to save weight and complexity. The overall wingspan is 37 feet. Options I am considering are retractable landing gear and multiple motors and propellers. The theoretical power requirements in cruise are about 4 kW depending upon propeller efficiency, which will necessitate about 10 kW-hr battery capacity.