Electric flight is coming, but the batteries aren’t ready

On 8/25/2018 1:45 PM, Larry Dighera wrote:
So, if the batteries are an issue, let's improve the electric motor's
power and efficiency while we're waiting for battery improvements

Sorry, but there really isn't much to be gained there. Motors already
can be well over 90% efficient, and they already are lighter and more
compact than an equivalent IC engine.

So that takes us right back to the battery!

Actually, thanks to technology from Tesla and others, existing battery
technology is probably already good enough for the training role (one
hour flight plus reserve), but bringing a new aircraft design to market
requires a huge investment and the market for training aircraft is
minuscule compared to the market for (say) automobiles. So it's really
going to be hard to make the business case for just the training market.

Plus don't forget the cost of the charging infrastructure that would be
needed for the training role! We would need high power recharging to
quickly "refuel" the plane for the next lesson. A plane sitting on the
ground isn't making the school any money. That charging infrastructure
will be neither cheap nor easy to do at a typical airport.

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