EV airplane is finally a reality

[Tesla2.0]

 

[hmp10]

Beautiful plane, but 506 miles of range isn't much. It won't even get you from Miami to Atlanta (595 miles as the crow flies). And I wonder about charging times and availability at airports?

EVs, especially Lucids, have enough range for realistic use, but I suspect practical electric air travel will depend on major battery technology breakthroughs.

 

[Bob Lahblaw]

Hope it has sufficient redundancies to fend off 12V issues and Turtle Mode!

 

[jabbahop]

these guys have been flying their prototype around our home in Vermont for a couple of years. Looks pretty cool.

Aircraft | VTOL and CTOL

BETA's all-electric ALIA VTOL and CTOL: The low-cost, high-performance solution for economically and environmentally sustainable operations. Designed by pilots for pilots.

www.beta.team

 

[hmp10]

these guys have been flying their prototype around our home in Vermont for a couple of years. Looks pretty cool.

Aircraft | VTOL and CTOL

BETA's all-electric ALIA VTOL and CTOL: The low-cost, high-performance solution for economically and environmentally sustainable operations. Designed by pilots for pilots.

www.beta.team

That's very cool. And, Lordy, I miss Vermont. Used to live there in the days GE still operated the Gatling gun factory on Lakeside Avenue in Burlington. The upper office floors of that factory had the most spectacular views of any manufacturing facility on earth. And it had a reputation inside GE of being something of a career graveyard, as people who transferred in -- especially those with families -- sometimes could not be pried out of Vermont with a crowbar.

 

[joec]

Beautiful plane, but 506 miles of range isn't much. It won't even get you from Miami to Atlanta (595 miles as the crow flies). And I wonder about charging times and availability at airports?

EVs, especially Lucids, have enough range for realistic use, but I suspect practical electric air travel will depend on major battery technology breakthroughs.

There are plenty of short-haul flights where this would be quite useful.

The number of puddle jumpers along the East Coast alone represents a big potential savings in pollution.

Just think about how many flights go from New York to Boston every day alone.

Every flight replaced by an electric plane is worth a lot more than any EV car.

 

[hmp10]

Just think about how many flights go from New York to Boston every day alone.

A general rule of thumb for public air travel is that for a drive that takes less than 5 hours, driving is the faster alternative to flying.

Whether flying the NYC-Boston route (187 air miles) is more practical than driving (216 road miles from Manhattan) or taking a train is dependent on your ultimate departure and destination points and on whether it's a private or public flight. Getting to and from airports can eat up most or all of the time saved over ground transportation on such a short haul, even when flying out of general aviation terminals. And, if you're on a public flight, you have to deal with airport waits and being locked into flight schedules which won't give you the same flexibility as driving.

In 2020 the average regional flight was 502 miles, right at the edge of this electric plane's range -- assuming that it's a real-world range that can cope with varying weather and weight load conditions. And remember that planes have to carry enough additional fuel to deal with landing delays at their destinations. No sane pilot would take off without enough range to stay in the air significantly longer than scheduled.

That means few regional airlines would buy a plane that worked on only some of their routes, especially if electric planes required different infrastructure support (mechanics, charging facilities, etc.). And corporate, private, or jet-share buyers would not likely spend money on a plane of such limited range unless they never anticipated flying longer routes.

For years I flew in the planes and helicopters of the GE corporate air fleet, and I can think of few trips where this plane would have been used. For hauls between our Connecticut HQ and places such as NYC, Philadelphia, and Boston we used helicopters because they flew us from the HQ grounds to landing pads at or very near our destinations. For anything else, we needed more range than this plane would provide.

I think this plane is an interesting step forward in evolving electric airplane technology, but it's not going to have much of a market until the range improves considerably.

 

[hydbob]

A general rule of thumb for public air travel is that for a drive that takes less than 5 hours, driving is the faster alternative to flying.

Whether flying the NYC-Boston route (187 air miles) is more practical than driving (216 road miles from Manhattan) or taking a train is dependent on your ultimate departure and destination points and on whether it's a private or public flight. Getting to and from airports can eat up most or all of the time saved over ground transportation on such a short haul, even when flying out of general aviation terminals. And, if you're on a public flight, you have to deal with airport waits and being locked into flight schedules which won't give you the same flexibility as driving.

In 2020 the average regional flight was 502 miles, right at the edge of this electric plane's range -- assuming that it's a real-world range that can cope with varying weather and weight load conditions. And remember that planes have to carry enough additional fuel to deal with landing delays at their destinations. No sane pilot would take off without enough range to stay in the air significantly longer than scheduled.

That means few regional airlines would buy a plane that worked on only some of their routes, especially if electric planes required different infrastructure support (mechanics, charging facilities, etc.). And corporate, private, or jet-share buyers would not likely spend money on a plane of such limited range unless they never anticipated flying longer routes.

For years I flew in the planes and helicopters of the GE corporate air fleet, and I can think of few trips where this plane would have been used. For hauls between our Connecticut HQ and places such as NYC, Philadelphia, and Boston we used helicopters because they flew us from the HQ grounds to landing pads at or very near our destinations. For anything else, we needed more range than this plane would provide.

I think this plane is an interesting step forward in evolving electric airplane technology, but it's not going to have much of a market until the range improves considerably.

It's for Elon's 15 minute plane rides

 

[jabbahop]

It's for Elon's 15 minute plane rides

soon Elon will just take the CyberBoat instead!

 

[joec]

A general rule of thumb for public air travel is that for a drive that takes less than 5 hours, driving is the faster alternative to flying.

Whether flying the NYC-Boston route (187 air miles) is more practical than driving (216 road miles from Manhattan) or taking a train is dependent on your ultimate departure and destination points and on whether it's a private or public flight. Getting to and from airports can eat up most or all of the time saved over ground transportation on such a short haul, even when flying out of general aviation terminals. And, if you're on a public flight, you have to deal with airport waits and being locked into flight schedules which won't give you the same flexibility as driving.

In 2020 the average regional flight was 502 miles, right at the edge of this electric plane's range -- assuming that it's a real-world range that can cope with varying weather and weight load conditions. And remember that planes have to carry enough additional fuel to deal with landing delays at their destinations. No sane pilot would take off without enough range to stay in the air significantly longer than scheduled.

That means few regional airlines would buy a plane that worked on only some of their routes, especially if electric planes required different infrastructure support (mechanics, charging facilities, etc.). And corporate, private, or jet-share buyers would not likely spend money on a plane of such limited range unless they never anticipated flying longer routes.

For years I flew in the planes and helicopters of the GE corporate air fleet, and I can think of few trips where this plane would have been used. For hauls between our Connecticut HQ and places such as NYC, Philadelphia, and Boston we used helicopters because they flew us from the HQ grounds to landing pads at or very near our destinations. For anything else, we needed more range than this plane would provide.

I think this plane is an interesting step forward in evolving electric airplane technology, but it's not going to have much of a market until the range improves considerably.

Regardless of faster alternatives, thousands of people take these short flights every day.

I agree, the range isn’t quite good enough yet. Recharging probably takes too long. And it would need a higher capacity of passengers. But these shorter flights will be the entry point for electric planes. And it’s not as far off as many think. Certainly, it’ll happen long before Tesla or anyone is shipping cars without steering wheels.

 

[hmp10]

Regardless of faster alternatives, thousands of people take these short flights every day.

I agree, the range isn’t quite good enough yet. Recharging probably takes too long. And it would need a higher capacity of passengers. But these shorter flights will be the entry point for electric planes. And it’s not as far off as many think. Certainly, it’ll happen long before Tesla or anyone is shipping cars without steering wheels.

I'm not arguing that electric planes might not soon be feasible for short hauls (keeping in mind the need for buffer range in case of airport congestion or weather interruptions to landing that necessitate either holding patterns or diversion to other airports). I'm really arguing that with a realistic safe range of probably no more than 300 miles and a 9-passenger capacity, the plane in this article would not make economic sense for integration into the fleet of a public carrier, corporation, or jet-share service.

 

[Tesla2.0]

Range anxiety?
Aerial supercharging is the next evolution.

 

[Adnillien]

(keeping in mind the need for buffer range in case of airport congestion or weather interruptions to landing that necessitate either holding patterns or diversion to other airports).

The FAA requires enough fuel to fly to the intended airport, then to an alternate and then another 45 minutes. @hmp10 is correct that a lot of buffer must be included.

 

[maractwin]

I've been on plenty of short flights to/from various islands. Ferries are very slow. Assuming the electric grid on the islands can recharge the plane, it would be useful in that setting.

 

[Tesla2.0]

What’s next? Electric chopper?

 

[RM-S8]

I read through the grapevine that Elon Musk is working on electric rocket Earth-Moon-Earth.

 

[Tesla2.0]

You think about it. A.I. with renewable energy. Mankind basically can create sentient beings with eternal life which makes Jesus Chris’ miracles look weak. Scary….

 

[hmp10]

I read through the grapevine that Elon Musk is working on electric rocket Earth-Moon-Earth.

And give it to Russia or China . . . .

 

[Tesla2.0]

And give it to Russia or China . . . .

Wouldn’t be surprised since Elon mentioned global population collapse, now China is encouraging their citizens for higher birth rate.