Xenos 59 Electric Build

[Sonex1517]

Congratulations Gabe! Looking forward to hearing the first flight report.

[bvolcko38]

That's great!

[Xenos 59]

It flies! 40 minutes, 40 miles, 40% battery remaining. Lots of testing, tweaking, and improvements to go. With a planned battery upgrade, duration will be about 1.5 hours and range will be 100 miles!

Videos uploading on my youtube now...

[Sonex1517]

Congratulations! This is fantastic!

[Carlos Trigo]

Sonex Maiden Takeoff (2).png

It flies! 40 minutes, 40 miles, 40% battery remaining. Lots of testing, tweaking, and improvements to go. With a planned battery upgrade, duration will be about 1.5 hours and range will be 100 miles!

Videos uploading on my youtube now...

That will be a very good endurance !

What is that screen mounted over the dashboard?
Is it the motor+battery monitoring screen you adapted from the Zero motorcycle?

Thanks
Carlos

[thomas]

Gabe,

This is a very exciting development for experimental aviation! Although there are others who have employed electric power systems, as far as I know, your E-Gull and Xenos are firsts for a practical conversion of completely integrated single-source systems (battery/bms/controller/motor) to aero use. This opens a safe pathway for others to follow who may not be electrical engineers ready to develop their own power systems.

For the fossil-burners who are trying to quiet their cabin noise, it would be a great data point to know what dBA readings you get from inside your cabin during climbs. This would give a benchmark for the quietest cabin that is realistically attainable.

Thanks for sharing your success!

Paul

[Xenos 59]

Carlos, yes that is the dash from the zero motorcycle. It displays battery level, motor Rpm and temp, etc...

Paul, I was fortunate to help start Zero Motorcycle and given an early glimpse into what the technology was capable of and how to implement it.

The electric Xenos is very quiet! I don't have any db measurement tools, but I'll try to find a way to measure and/or convey the quietness.

[WaiexN143NM]

gabe,
congrats on first flight!
i hope the faa when implementing new lsa rules in 2022 (mosaic) approves electric for lsa!
you are a trailblazer, and like paul said will open the door for others. im interested in your set up.
lets us know if you will be selling any parts, after your testing is complete.
way to go!


WaiexN143NM
Michael

[ASDomenighi]

Gabe, congratulations on your second flight. For many years I am very interested on a low cost electrical aircraft, that I can build. A glider or a high performance composite aircraft is a best option but normally very expensive. Some years ago I start to convince myself that the Xenos was the only low cost option on the market today. Thanks for your approach to use the Zero system, I believe that you are correct, the zero can be the best option today to install a reliable and low cost system with a Xenos.
Can you please provide a detail picture of the left side of your front mount and another one of the right. Did you installed the charging system of the Zero on the left or you used one of the off shelf: https://zeromanual.com/wiki/Chargers ? From your pictures seems that you installed a extra box on top of the battery, what is this ?
Again thanks for your initiative, we are all inspired and cheering for your success !! Keep us posted on your progress. Cheers.

[Xenos 59]

Apologies to all for lack of updates. After the 1st two test flights I was out of the country on business for a month, then Hollister airport has been IMC because of the fires and smoke. Not too mention a very active water bomber base. I didn't want to be toodling around in the pattern and hampering their efforts!

So 6+ weeks after the 1st flights and I have been unable to fly since :(

However, thing are looking good for this weekend so I look get her back up in the air and proceed with more flying and testing.

Here's an album I'm throwing together for those who are curious. It should answer a lot of the questions asked. The only component not shown it the "Zero Charge Tank" which is a 6kW charger tucked under the glare shield where the old fuel tank would go. I even re-used the old fueling port for the J1772 charge plug :)

https://photos.app.goo.gl/DK2adzkvmgLs7TKx8