Electriflying

A few years ago when people were discussing the possibility of
electric-powered flight, you'd get hacked on pretty hard for
suggesting such a thing would be practical or possible in our
lifetime. Obviously if you knew anything about physics or electrical
engineering, why, you'd know it was totally impossible.

So here you go.

http://www.wired.com/autopia/tag/electric-airplane/

"Flight times for two-seat electric aircraft in development already
exceed 90 minutes. That might not be enough for a long cross-country
flight, but it’s longer than the typical flight lesson lasts. And this
is what has caught the attention of flight schools.

The commercial side of electric airplanes may be less about going
places, and more about teaching student pilots how to fly. And the
first electric student pilot has already flown solo, learning the
basics entirely in a battery-powered airplane."

Even better will be a commuter aircraft so you could fly from, say,
Salem to Portland or Seattle to Port Townsend unencumbered by rush
hour traffic. My philosophy is, the faster and harder society advances
this technology the more likely we will be able to enjoy it in our
lifetime.

-c