APEV Pouchelec
{{Short description|French homebuilt aircraft}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2022}}
{{Use British English|date=January 2022}}
| {{Infobox aircraft begin
| name=Pouchelec | image=Pouchel pouchelec.jpg | caption=A gasoline powered Pouchel (foreground) and a Pouchelec (background) }}{{Infobox aircraft type | type=Amateur-built electric aircraft | national origin=France | manufacturer=APEV | designer=Daniel Dalby | first flight= | introduced= | retired= | status=Plans and kits no longer available (2017){{cite web|url = http://www.pouchel.com/english/index_eng.php?p=plans_eng.html|title = Get the plans and kits|accessdate = 14 January 2018|author=APEV |work = www.pouchel.com}} | primary user= | more users= | produced= | number built= | developed from= APEV Pouchel Light | variants with their own articles= }} |
The APEV Pouchelec ({{langx|en|italic=yes|Ladder Flea Electric}}) is a French amateur-built electric aircraft, that was designed by Daniel Dalby and produced by APEV of Peynier. When it was available the aircraft was supplied as plans or as a kit for amateur construction.Bayerl, Robby; Martin Berkemeier; et al: World Directory of Leisure Aviation 2011-12, page 93. WDLA UK, Lancaster UK, 2011. ISSN 1368-485XTacke, Willi; Marino Boric; et al: World Directory of Light Aviation 2015-16, page 97. Flying Pages Europe SARL, 2015. {{ISSN|1368-485X}}
Design and development
The Pouchelec is a development of the APEV Pouchel Light, adapted for electric power, including revised landing gear and longer span wings with greater surface area. The original Pouchel was constructed using three commercially available aluminium ladders, hence APEV is the Association pour la Promotion des Echelles Volantes, or in English, Association for the Promotion of Flying Ladders. Later models were forced to move to rectangular aluminium tubing when the ladder manufacturer grew concerned about liability. The Pouchel series are all derivatives of the classic 1930s Henri Mignet-designed Mignet Pou-du-Ciel (Flying Flea).{{cite web|url = http://www.pouchel.com/english/index_eng.php?p=elec_eng.html|title = The Pouchelec, the electric Pouchel|accessdate = 19 September 2012|last = APEV|date = |archive-date = 17 April 2015|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150417014317/http://www.pouchel.com/english/index_eng.php?p=elec_eng.html|url-status = dead}}
The Pouchelec features a cantilever rear wing with a strut-braced parasol front wing, a single-seat open cockpit without a windshield, fixed conventional landing gear and a single engine in tractor configuration. The aircraft is made from bolted-together aluminium tubing, with its flying surfaces covered in Dacron sailcloth. Its {{convert|7.30|m|ft|1|abbr=on}} span front wing and {{convert|5.30|m|ft|1|abbr=on}} span rear have a combined area of {{convert|14.6|m2|sqft|abbr=on}} and both employ NACA 23112 airfoils. The engine supplied is a {{convert|15|kW|hp|0|abbr=on}} AGNI 119R electric motor powered by a Kokam Lithium-ion polymer battery pack, which gives a 30-minute flight endurance.
As of late 2017 it was no longer listed as available as plans or a kit.
Operational history
Specifications (Pouchelec)
{{Aircraft specs
|prime units?=met
|genhide=
|crew=one
|capacity=
|length m=
|length ft=
|length in=
|length note=
|upper span m=7.30
|upper span ft=
|upper span in=
|upper span note=
|lower span m=5.30
|lower span ft=
|lower span in=
|lower span note=
|height m=
|height ft=
|height in=
|height note=
|wing area sqm=14.6
|wing area sqft=
|wing area note=
|aspect ratio=
|airfoil=NACA 23112
|empty weight kg=140
|empty weight lb=
|empty weight note=including batteries
|gross weight kg=250
|gross weight lb=
|gross weight note=
|fuel capacity=
|more general=
|eng1 number=1
|eng1 name=AGNI 119R
|eng1 type=electric motor powered by a Kokam Lithium-ion polymer battery pack
|eng1 kw=15
|eng1 hp=
|prop blade number=
|prop name=
|prop dia m=
|prop dia ft=
|prop dia in=
|prop note=
|perfhide=
|max speed kmh=120
|max speed mph=
|max speed kts=
|max speed note=
|cruise speed kmh=70
|cruise speed mph=
|cruise speed kts=
|cruise speed note=
|stall speed kmh=35
|stall speed mph=
|stall speed kts=
|stall speed note=
|never exceed speed kmh=120
|never exceed speed mph=
|never exceed speed kts=
|never exceed speed note=
|range km=
|range miles=
|range nmi=
|range note=
|endurance=30 minutes
|ceiling m=
|ceiling ft=
|ceiling note=
|g limits=+4/-2
|roll rate=
|glide ratio=
|climb rate ms=
|climb rate ftmin=
|climb rate note=
|time to altitude=
|sink rate ms=
|sink rate ftmin=
|sink rate note=
|lift to drag=
|wing loading kg/m2=17.1
|wing loading lb/sqft=
|wing loading note=
|power/mass=
|thrust/weight=
|more performance=
|avionics=
}}
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- [http://www.pouchel.com/english/index_eng.php?p=elec_eng.html Official website] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150417014317/http://www.pouchel.com/english/index_eng.php?p=elec_eng.html |date=17 April 2015 }}
- [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a-tx6rPz3HY Video of early test flights]
{{APEV aircraft}}