Ciao Roger,ciao Phil and all
as of today I am pretty sure that by keeping the max take off weight in the neighborhood of 400 lbs equivalent to about 180 kg the amount of power needed on board is 13,5 Kw ,about 18 hp,and the engine available is the german Flytec HPD 10 rated to 13,5 and turning 1950/2100 rpm.The complete powered kit ( engine,prop,batteries and electronic control) should remain in the 30 kg figure,little bit more than it is today on the Archeopterix.
Swift Lite and Archeopterix swing a 1.4 mt prop which is excellent for take off. Silent Electro swing a 1.0 mt prop turning 4500 rpm on a 22 Kw engine.
Point is the ground clearance of the prop on the CD, but if we see videos of the Silent, it reaches acceptable ground prop clearance by keeping a constant nose up attitude of the aircraft in taxiing as well in take off and landing. In other words it looks like the glider never keeps a level attitude while on the ground. If this is correct we can get some prop clearance clearance on the CD by operating the same way as the Silent and ,as Phil was suggesting, we can add few inches on the pod length so moving the pilot forward and balancing it with the engine placed in the back of the pod turning a long sized drive shaft connecting the prop on the nose. Prop should fold as the Silent and recessed nicely along the fuselage sides when engine is off. Silent Company is not far from where I live and I am planning to see them and ask for some advice.
Another modification guess is the size of the landing wheel because by enlarging it we gain on the distance from the ground and therefore the prop clearance. I think that even if large part of the bigger wheel will be protruding from the bottom of the fuselage,because of its small width it can be properly cowled and aerodynamically streamlined.
The above is just food for thought and comments or suggestions are always welcome.Next step should be to translate into drawings and see what is coming out.
In any case all the efforts spent to make this dream coming true are worthwhile!!
My best
Cesare