It occurred to me that for those among us with retractable gear, a wind-powered alternator might be an interesting approach to a back-up power source.

You could rig the standard wind-powered generator/alternator (like Ward-Aero) to the gear leg of a retractable landing gear. When you deploy the gear, the generator is put in the wind and produces power. When you retract the gear, the generator is tucked away and is not producing drag.

The back-up generator would be on-line during the most critical portions of the flight, during take-off and landing. You could deploy the generator during flight by simply dropping the gear if there were a problem with the primary generator.

Alternatively, if you are considering some sort of custom air brake, perhaps you could incorporate a wind generator in it.

Hmm, with the increasing number of all-electric airplanes out there, a combo air brake back-up alternator might sell pretty well.

Just a thought,

Bill Dube'