Today is not 2 April, but there was a piece last night on the Beeb which referred to electric powered commercial aircraft within the next few years. Is the energy density of batteries sufficient?
Not very practical with the sizes and shapes of aircraft we have become accustomed to, but there are already a few unmanned electric aircraft that are solar powered, the batteries charging up during the day and keeping it airborne during the night. The electronics onboard to keep it in the air and above the clouds so it can recharge are quite fun. works very well as a flying radio, for temp comms until there is a big storm, but more manoeuvrable and not as vulnerable as a balloon.
For passenger use, a battery that is charged on the ground will make more sense. You will not get anything like the speed and lift of a jet of course, but a slightly slower replacement for the short hop turbofan, with rather more wing area, is a more practical proposition, right now it is the small prop 2 and 4 seat aircraft that are being demonstrated that can fly for up to an hour or so.
Not very practical with the sizes and shapes of aircraft we have become accustomed to, but there are already a few unmanned electric aircraft that are solar powered, the batteries charging up during the day and keeping it airborne during the night. The electronics onboard to keep it in the air and above the clouds so it can recharge are quite fun. works very well as a flying radio, for temp comms until there is a big storm, but more manoeuvrable and not as vulnerable as a balloon.
For passenger use, a battery that is charged on the ground will make more sense. You will not get anything like the speed and lift of a jet of course, but a slightly slower replacement for the short hop turbofan, with rather more wing area, is a more practical proposition, right now it is the small prop 2 and 4 seat aircraft that are being demonstrated that can fly for up to an hour or so.
