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BillDube@killacycle.com wrote:
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.
There are some vertical windmill designs that would make a very nice compact package that would mount easily on the side of a gear leg.
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This is by far the hardest lesson about freedom. It goes against
instinct, and morality, to just sit back and watch people make
mistakes. We want to help them, which means control them and their
decisions, but in doing so we actually hurt them (and ourselves)."
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