Investor wanted!

Would you like to join in a partnership around the Skynch project? Now is your chance to get in on a deal where more than 100 pre-orders are just waiting to be honoured and many more have expressed their profound interest!

It is no secret that the development process has lasted longer than anyone anticipated back when the concept was first invented. And it has been expensive. So  we're now looking for some external capital to go the last mile - if this sounds like your kind of thing then don't hesitate to contact us.

February 21st 2007: Sad news - development halted!

It is with great sadness that we're forced to announce our stopping/pausing the development process. It has been a difficult step to take especially in light of the great support we have been getting from all over the world, but the latest test flight leaves no other options open right now. Here's the story:

"Climbing well and thinking everything would be just great, at 100m agl both electric motors and the control unit went up in smoke - for a time there I thought I would have to dump the unit because it had caught fire! Wasn't as bad as that, but the tow stopped there, and the smell wasn't good. Back on the ground I could see that both engines were totalled, simply no way they can deliver the kind of torque the manufacturer promises - probably only app. 60% when the output is continuous. At this stage this means further development in the electric motor department, somewhat outside of our scope and at present surely much too expensive to undertake. If someone comes up with better/stronger motors AND a bag of money to continue with we're only too keen to continue, but right now there's no light at the end of that particular tunnel."

January 17th 2007: The Mad Scientist in his laboratory

We uploaded a small videoclip of some eSkynch testing in the lab. The latest technical news is that the connection between the electric motors and the line drum is now running through two centrifugal clutches which had to be designed and built from scratch. The clutches serve to reduce the load on the motor coils during launch AND make the launch smoother. Now we're really just waiting for the weather to break so we can get some flight testing in. Check the Quicktime video here, and also this photo of the clutches now in charge of the transmission:

Click on the pic to enlarge

December 23rd 2006: Progress and setbacks - the life of a developer in a nutshell

We went testing again with the new electric motors, and one thing is for sure - they are STRONG! So strong in fact that one (again) cranked itself apart just as the pilot was settling into his harness. John is confident that these are just growing pains and that we'll be stesting again in the next few days. Meanwhile we wish you all Merry celebrations tomorrow...

December 6th 2006: First practical test of the eSkynch ends in tears

We were all fired up to go high on the first practical flying test day - but one of the little electric engines gave up just as the pilot was taking off - turned out the coil had not been properly glued by the manufacturer so instead of spinning the axle the coil started to spin. The picture shows the naughty coil, and the eSkynch all ready to go:

November 24th 2006: The eSkynch being tested in the laboratory

We uploaded two more images from the workshop. This time they show the eSkynch being computer tested, whilst the battery pack is still not installed and thus easy to see. Find them here

November 13th 2006: More new pics

Have a look in the Gallery section, where we just uploaded the latest shots from the workshop. John is raving about the lightness of this new eSkynch - "...when I need to turn it over onto its back I just use one hand..."

November 8th 2006: New photos uploaded

We have uploaded some very recent photos of the eSkynch in the gallery section. Check them out!

October 23rd 2006: A battery pack Skynch style

There are many ways to design the battery pack for the eSkynch - this is one of the options that we're investigating. Rather sleek if I may say so:

October 2. 2006

The all-new Skynch homepage is Online. We felt that there was a mismatch between what the old site was communicating, i.e. the status of the project, and our own knowledge - in a way, the site seemed to us more dedicated to selling Skynches than to keep interested parties abreast of the development process.

With this new site we aim to solve that discrepancy. It is meant to be continuously updated with information without inciting you to call us with your orders. This is not to say that we don't want your orders, we do, but we need to be ready for them. We'll publish that merry day here on the web, and we'll write all who have registered in our database as well.

Lately the Skynch project has taken a 180 degrees turn - all for the better we feel. Intrigued? Read on! The thing is, as it grew smaller and lighter we ran out of space for vibration-dampening rubber mounts inside. This turned out to be too much for practically everything except the engine - at 9000rpm one couldn't really see the unit any more, it turned into a foggy blur where even the carefully designed monocoque chassis was beginning to give.

Again some out-of-the-box thinking was called for - and as of now the Skynch is officially going ELECTRIC. Since the start of the project batteries have undergone a quiet little revolution of their own, both in performance and in price, which means that for the first time in history building an electrical portable winch is now realistic.

We'll keep you posted...