| Author | Message | ||
     Gregtonn |
FWIW: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tOcoGNZaUAM&ab_cha nnel=TwoBitdaVinci No surprise that NASA is into battery development. Satellite solar panels only make power when on the sunny side of orbit when in eclipse satellites rely on stored power. We spent years developing battery ORUs (Orbital Replacement Unit) for Space Station. Also, his discussion of E aircraft seems to indicate ignorance of recent advances in E aircraft design. G | ||
| Aesquire |
I've been watching the progress of manned electric flight. The best stuff has been mostly sailplane based designs, due to limited power density. So there's a few tries at trainers, intended for purely local flights, and pattern work. ( take off and landing practice, the hard part to learn ) And some motorglider development including commercially available conversions, because of the High efficiency of the machines, and the mission, take off, climb half a mile, and shut off while looking for lift. 90% of the hype is, unfortunately, vaporware, pretty pictures cgi and unrealistic promises. Lots of robot air taxi stuff that I don't EVER see being legal, or worse, tried because of political pressure and prone to the failures of experimental tech, in horribly bloody ways that will set the idea back decades. Just think of a half ton passenger multicopter, making an emergency auto land on a city street or neighborhood green space. With 16 spinning carbon fiber sword sized blades dropping into your day. Don't get me wrong, I call the small amateur one man multicopters "human cuisanarts" but they look like fun. There's a Reason helicopters from the airport to the City are rare and actually banned in many places. Mostly because old school helicopters are complex and expensive to maintain. Electric multicopters are mechanically simple. Electrical overheat complex, true, flying takes high power to weight. And redundant computers for When one fails. But if you have the money, you can flit around your local farms if your neighbors don't mind. If you ignore VTOL flight as needlessly expensive and risky, and focus on small Cessna type recreational planes, they're all waiting on the next battery. There just won't be airliners for the near future. In historical aviation terms, we are not up to WW1 for power/range. Aerodynamic speaking, we're literally a century further on, so progress will be as swift as batteries allow. NASA may be the wrong organization to expect practical electric planes from. We probably need a modern version of the Schneider Cup races to draw in the best minds. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schneider_Trophy E. Raymond is an old flying acquaintance. Much better pilot than I am, darn it. Apparently excellent wife picker, too. https://www.solar-flight.com/sunseeker-duo/ | ||
| Gregtonn |
Pat, Seems your knowledge of E aircraft advances is on par with the author of the posted video. VTOL and rotary lift are some of the most inefficient aircraft designs in terms of power usage. Also do you seriously thinks electric sailplanes would have any commercial value? Who said NASA would be a good candidate for developing an electric powered plane? Certainly not me, in fact that is one of the last places I would go. I was simply pointing out their need for batteries. G | ||
| Aesquire |
Actual sales > 0 = electric sailplanes. Actual sales = 0 for air taxis. A few dozen vs. Zip. Wasn't arguing with you, pointing out the hype in the pretty well done simplified video posted. Thanks. |
