Ingineer
Well-known member
It's got a LOT of electronics on it, it's way more sophisticated than anything I've ever seen in Aviation. Keep in mind it has to handle a lot more than just starting it up! It regulates and handles the power conversion, including grid interactivity (in it's original configuration). It's also got a log of diagnostic stuff in there so it can be monitored remotely.Roadburner440 said:Certaintly interesting. For a small turbine like that I guess you could call it a FADEC. More commonly it is just an ESU (Electronic Sequencing Unit). A small box with little bit balls on it that just controls the start sequence. Certaintly cool that it has no lubrication. You would be right in that I would not be familiar with that at all. I am used to pre-flighting, checking oil, etc... To not check the oil would be weird to me. We have had a couple turbine failures in my almost decade in aviation that I have seen. We had one where stuff ejected through the case, and another where the wheel and other bits shot out the exhaust. So just coming from an environment like that makes me leery of it. Never would of thought of having them in office buildings. Before your reply I just pictured you blasting down the road with ear plugs in, and the APU roaring along. :lol: On the plus side you would not need VSP at least.
As far as noise, startup sounds almost like a standard shop-vac. Once it's comes up to power it's pretty quiet. You can't hear it running from inside the Leaf at all unless you are parked with the climate control off. This is not in the same class as you are used to!
-Phil