Free Republic

Rolls-Royce Aerospace makes jet engines that power many of the world’s airplanes. While they are state of the art in terms of efficiency, they also leave a lot of greenhouse gas emissions in their wake. The company has been a leader in developing electric propulsion systems for airplanes in order to help lead the world forward into a future of zero-emissions flight. Getting there will involve lots of innovations. The major hurdle is that batteries have a much lower energy density per unit of weight than jet fuel. Let’s dig into that a bit. According to JetPack Aviation, a liter...

United Airlines and one of its regional carriers each plan to buy up to 100 small electric planes that could be used on short-haul United flights. The 19-seat planes could be used to fly passengers up to 250 miles by the end of the decade, United said Tuesday morning. United’s venture fund and its partner Mesa Airlines will be investing in the company developing the plane, Sweden’s Heart Aerospace. Both airlines agreed to purchase 100 of the planes if they meet United’s specifications once developed. A plane with just 19 seats is small for a carrier like United, especially since...