Posted on 05/06/2015 1:01:43 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
(VIDEO-AT-LINK)
The current issue surrounding personal aircraft is the cost factor. Not only do private jets that seat under a dozen people cost millions to buy, but fuel for a flight will set you back a few thousand pounds each ride.
NASA is working on a way to fix that, by creating a four man battery-powered airplane capable of working as a pseudo-drone and a short flight carrier. The electric plane features 10 engines and is capable of taking off vertically, similar to a rocket.
The current prototype is focused on crop overview and personal surveillance. Instead of having a drone that retires after 45 minutes in the air, this new plane would be capable of maintaining high altitude and attachable equipment is available.
For the most part, NASA is not focused on personal surveillance. It wants to a build an electric plane capable of matching the speeds of gasoline planes, without the noise pollution and expensive fuel costs associated with other planes.
It plans to make the helicopter irrelevant through the vertical takeoff process alongside the four times better aerodynamic efficiency even in cruise mode. NASA has not detailed how it plans on commercialising the technology, if it even plans on taking that course of action.
NASA is more likely to show the technology is there, before allowing private companies the chance to look into the underbelly of the electric plane and see how it all works. Companies like DJI – the Chinese drone manufacturer – might have better luck commercialising these small electric planes.
Even though some may be wondering why NASA is involved in aircraft, the department has become much more than space travel.
It works on environmental issues like global warming, even though Republican 2016 nominee Ted Cruz is trying to cut NASA’s funding to make it focus on space travel.
OH COME ON NASA , battery powered electric plane is so last century
OH COME ON NASA , battery powered electric plane is so last century
You better damn sure have a backup system if the battery goes out...
Having seen the pictures, it’s a cute little R/C toy. It might make a nice drone for observing crops, etc., but for carrying people, it makes the Osprey look like engineering simplicity. No way I’d trust it to carry me from point A to point B.
It’s simple math. Energy density per pound. Jet fuel is way higher than the lithium battery.
However, short flights; say over a mountain range, medical rescue, or even LAX to LAS, might work.
Then there’s the commuter option. It is only 70 miles from Irvine to Van Nuys in California. To drive it during business hours takes 2.5 hours. To fly it in an hour, door to door, would be very valuable.
Correction, this is a coal-powered or natural-gas-powered plane. The battery is just energy storage.
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