Just like my tools.
One plane, lots of batteries.
Posted on 09/28/2017 6:23:11 AM PDT by Red Badger
The auto industry is going electric. Is aviation next?
Major European carrier EasyJet announced Wednesday that it is teaming up with U.S. startup Wright Electric to build an all-electric airliner.
The aircraft they have in mind would handle short routes of 335 miles or less -- think New York to Boston or London to Paris.
EasyJet, a budget airline that specializes in shorter flights, said the new aircraft would cover 20% of its passenger journeys.
The airline said it has been working closely with Wright Electric this year and it hopes to have an electric commercial aircraft flying in the next decade.
"We can envisage a future without jet fuel and we are excited to be part of it. It is now more a matter of when not if a short haul electric plane will fly," said EasyJet CEO Carolyn McCall.
Wright Electric was founded in 2016 by a team of battery chemists, aerospace engineers and electric vehicle experts from NASA, Boeing (BA) and Cessna.
It received funding from Harvard University and startup incubator Y Combinator, which helped fund Dropbox, Reddit and Airbnb. EasyJet did not reveal the financial terms of its partnership with the startup.
Jeffrey Engler, the chief executive of Wright Electric, said that working with EasyJet is "a powerful validation of our technology approach."
EasyJet said the startup has already demonstrated its first two-seater plane, showing it can make the technology work on a smaller scale.
(Excerpt) Read more at money.cnn.com ...
I doubt it.
Wow, that took a whole lot of imagination. Draw an airplane without any engines.
I guess the hard part is over. Nothing left but engineering, oh and small, lightweight fast charging, slow discharge powerful batteries capable of providing massive speed and lift.
Yep, just about done.
The will fly like inverted electric trains in the sky, drawing power from transmission lines. Of course the route will have to be electrified.
I had a conversation with successful men last week, one of whom is a surgeon.
They were lamenting the fact that electric cars don’t do the obvious: cover the car in solar panels so that it is always charging and never loses power.
I said there isn’t enough surface area to capture that much energy. The response was uniform: they need a breakthrough in solar cell tech to capture that energy.
I politely explained that there is a finite maximum amount of energy that hits each square inch of area and it doesn’t approach the energy requirements for travel. And... I was told it didn’t matter. It is only a matter of investment.
Shake my damn head and move on
You’re thinking of lead-acid batteries. The various types of lithium ion batteries are considerably lighter and more compact. The Tesla automotive battery pack is very thin and serves as the floorboard of their vehicles, sort of like a skateboard and the chassis is nicknamed a skateboard in fact.
..and no copper wiring, especially for overnight stays in Detroit or St Louis airports.
IIRC, the batteries e rare metals and the majority are mined by China.
There are conventional solar panels now that are 500 watts apiece. People are setting up large motorhomes with the roof covered in solar panels, and the system actually powers the whole rig for extended camping without shore power. It’s more feasible than you think. Here’s an example from one of the best-known and most accomplished companies doing this, out in AZ:
http://precisionrv.com/2017/08/24/2000-watt-1200-amp-hour-newmar-motorhome-solar-power-system/
CNN reporters, I have a deal for you. I will bet you $1,000.00 each and give 2 to 1 odds, that commercial passengers are NOT flying on scheduled airlines that are electrically powered within 10 years.
If you won’t take the bet, why would you print this nonsense.
We will pay our monies now and let Mr. James C. “Jim” Robinson of Fresno, California, hold the monies till the bet is concluded.
Wait. Look at that picture. IMO, it looks like the fuel cells (batteries) are located on each wing. Ah, where is the engine? You know, the propulsion system that provides the thrust? Or is this plane like a Subaru that is propelled by love, rainbow skittles, and unicorn gas?
Doctors are some of the most ignorant people there are.
Reason is they spent practically all their time from HS to Internship learning to be doctors at the exclusion of all else..................
An interesting admission and an optimistic and totally unsupported assertion. Their web site doesn't exactly inspire confidence. Reminds me of 1990s era vaporware companies.
(electric) Truck drives up.
Lowers depleted batteries from plane.
Raises charged batteries into plane.
Fly
Rinse
Repeat
Here’s a little fact you can throw at them the next time:
The total amount of power falling upon the Earth’s surface from the Sun is about 1kW per square meter, or about enough to power a hair drier...........but only on sunny cloudless days................
Mine had baking soda. Man...it cruised...
Great, a coal powered airplane that will probably burn more than three times the fuel as a modern jetliner.
I’m sure for easyJet the “investors” money is no object and will spare no “expense” chasing this wild goose.
Just like my tools.
One plane, lots of batteries.
https://greentransportation.info/energy-transportation/solar-panel-ev-car.html
1kw per square meter is the theoretical maximum. A car driving down the highway, not accelerating consumes 50kw+, and that goes higher at higher speeds.
Didn’t Gavillan have something similar in that 80s show?
Dewalt batteries are pricey.
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