Great Electric Airplane Race

[jayboogieman]

Quote

Can new emission-free electric planes replace our polluting airliners and revolutionize personal transportation in our cities? NOVA takes you for a ride in some impressive prototypes that are already in the air, from speedy single-seat planes that can take off like a helicopter but are half as noisy to  “self-flying” air taxis that are already taking passengers on test flights in Chinese cities. But if electric airplanes are ever to advance beyond small, short-haul craft, significant hurdles of battery weight, energy storage, and cooling remain to be overcome. How long will it be before the dream of super-quiet, super-efficient airliners becomes a reality?

This is an interesting show.

Great Electric Airplane Race | NOVA | PBS

[Ja Rhule]

4 hours ago, jayboogieman said:

This is an interesting show.

Great Electric Airplane Race | NOVA | PBS

The second someone invents a battery that the size and weight of full gas tank, game over.  Or if someone figured out what Tesla said about free electricity being all around us and a way to harvest it. Or if someone can create a mini nuclear fusion reactor that is contained (a battery that almost never dies).  Hydrogen fuel is another option.

I think nuclear fusion energy (mini nuclear reactor) will be the future.  It’s already been used in military but currently it can do insane damage in wrong hands.  Once they figure out the way for it to dissipate in wrong use, it can be manufactured for private use.

 

Edited July 6, 2022 by Ja Rhule

[jayboogieman]

6 hours ago, Ja Rhule said:

The second someone invents a battery that the size and weight of full gas tank, game over.  Or if someone figured out what Tesla said about free electricity being all around us and a way to harvest it. Or if someone can create a mini nuclear fusion reactor that is contained (a battery that almost never dies).  Hydrogen fuel is another option.

I think nuclear fusion energy (mini nuclear reactor) will be the future.  It’s already been used in military but currently it can do insane damage in wrong hands.  Once they figure out the way for it to dissipate in wrong use, it can be manufactured for private use.

 

Just take the electric producing wheel idea from high speed trains and adapt it for cars and aircraft. That way, people would only need smaller batteries to start the vehicle and store some power while stopped.

[Khyber53]

The world, it is a changing and the oil producers know it. We're going to see a lot of legislation and efforts to protect oil production in the near future and they'll be the equivalent of trying to legislate better buggy whip prices in 1903.

 

 

[jayboogieman]

17 hours ago, Khyber53 said:

The world, it is a changing and the oil producers know it. We're going to see a lot of legislation and efforts to protect oil production in the near future and they'll be the equivalent of trying to legislate better buggy whip prices in 1903.

 

 

Our senators and congressmen have been advocating to keep big oil around for years. Sadly, that's not going to change anytime soon.

[Khyber53]

1 hour ago, jayboogieman said:

Our senators and congressmen have been advocating to keep big oil around for years. Sadly, that's not going to change anytime soon.

Of course not, but the world around them is certainly changing. That's what they actively fight against, but it never stops change from happening. In truth, they've been fighting it for 30 years or more now and we may actually be seeing the final act of the play now.

The tipping point is near enough in the future that most of us will live to see it and become part of that next day.

[Squirrel]

Problem with electric is for airplanes they are all propellers. So they wouldn't work for long haul flight.  United is buying 100 19 seaters from heart aerospace for delivery in 2026.  But for larger aircraft need a better propulsion system.  United has been experimenting with algae based fuel on some flights but that is still years away too. 

Edited July 8, 2022 by Squirrel