I guess a proper comparison would be the weight of a piston engine plus the weight of the fuel to make a five-hour flight, compared to the weight of the electric engine plus the weight of the batteries needed to make the same flight.
I have a feeling the comparison wouldn’t work out that favorably, at least today. In five or ten years, another story probably.
Yeah my feeling too...less cargo/passenger capacity in a given A/C with this system until batteries get more power dense/lighter weight.
Gasoline is about 8 pounds per gallon, so your car has 120 pounds of gas when full. The LI battery in a Tesla is over 1000 pounds all the time. Other than that electric planes are a fantastic idea. I’m starting my own electric plane company. I will be CEO and make $1mm per year. I just need some investors. Please send money.