Check this out: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/europe/article3123681.ece A French group have created and tested a battery electric fixed-wing aircraft. It's early days yet for this technology, but for this world-first they did manage a 48 minute flight over the Alps using just 48 kg of lithium-polymer batteries. I like this quote: "When we began, nobody believed we could do it." Well I would have done! To make the switch to faster, larger, long-range battery-electric aircraft will require changing up from 200 Wh/kg LiPoly to 3,000 Wh/kg lithium-air couples (15 times longer range).
That's amazing. I've known about electric-powered radio controlled model airplanes that were electric-powered, but I didn't think a full-sized plane could ever fly. Harry
It's all just upscaled I guess from an electric model plane, instead of using a pack of double AA batteries it uses a pack of Double XX batteries. Electric would be good in a light aircraft because of high torque and low noise because light planes spend a lot of their time near urban areas and torque for takeoffs. Not sure it would be feasible to upscale to a jet size because they are more efficient and the electric power has to come from somewhere.
I hear electricity can be used for that too! <evil grin> or book a seat at the back of the plane, it's nice n quiet back there.
That's very awesome. I wonder is harder creating a commercial plane from nothing(something humans have mamaged to do) or create commercial electrical planes.
