How to charge an AS 34 Me

How to go about charging your electric glider

By Albert Tuertscher

Charger attached to the fuselage side

When the plane is assembled, it’s fairly easy: just plug the charger into the connector in the baggage compartment. The charger is controlled by the engine control unit in the instrument panel. The options are 500 W up to 3000 W in 500 W increments. However more than 1500 W do not seem feasible in the US, because most 120 V outlets have a 15 A circuit breaker, which allows a maximum of 1800 W. 

PLEASE NOTE: the charger can only be plugged into a 120 V outlet, NOT a 240 V outlet. Forget anything you might know from automotive charging. 

The batteries can of course also be charged with the glider in the trailer. In this case the charger is securely attached to the fuselage side by using the rear wing pins (see pictures). Special extension cords are provided to connect the batteries. These are put into a “harness” to stay in place when pushing the fuselage into the trailer. You just get the end out of the harness sleeve and plug it into the wing. This is done on both sides. The charger is plugged into a power outlet on the inside wall of the trailer. An outside chord connects the trailer to a nearby 120 V power outlet. The charger may still be controlled through the canopy side window. But that’s normally only necessary once. There is a delay of 30 seconds after you plug in for charging to start. This will give you time to adjust the charging power if necessary.

I often get asked how long does charging take? Well, it depends on the charging power and how much is left in the battery. The battery can hold 8,3 kWh, and in the rare case that it is completely depleted, it will take at least 17 hours on the lowest setting of 500 W. The charging will slow down towards the end because of battery balancing, so it will be more likely 18-19 hours. With 1000 W it’s half the time. Normally only the amount used for a self launch needs to be recharged, which might be anywhere between 30 – 60%. An overnight charge will be sufficient even on the lowest setting of 500 W, which I’m using. The higher setting of 1500 W should only be used if you have a dedicated outlet with nothing else connected to it. 

The extension cords are stored in a harness