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Homebuilt RAT?

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DLrocket89

Well-Known Member
Joined
Aug 10, 2009
Messages
249
Location
Janesville, Wi
All,

I work at company that makes RATs for commercial and military airplanes. Explanation of RAT: Ram air turbine - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia In a nutshell, a small, airstream-driven generator to provide power (hydrualic, electrical, etc). In this case, because most homebuilts don't have hydraulics, it'd be purely electrical.

I got to thinking about having a RAT on a homebuilt, then came across this:

GENNIPOD WIND GENERATOR from Aircraft Spruce

Seems like it'd fit the bill, put it on a hinged platform so that it is inside the airplane normally, pull a lever to release it, it then provides power (fuel pump, avoinics, whatever).

I realize that the power consumption of a typical homebuilt makes it such that a battery alone will get you a long ways before needing to land. Just wondering if someone out there has ever done something like this before or not...when I build my airplane (Spacewalker II), I may put this in there, if nothing else, for the engineering challenge of it.

Thoughts?
 
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