So it's 500nm + 45 minutes at cruise speed (= ~200nm or so)
How are they even going to deliver this plane? That's not enough range for a ferry pilot to deliver it to Europe or Asia, even hopping at every available airport around the Arctic.
Generally, they don't just fill airliner tanks full for every flight. They fill them with enough to reach their destination, plus enough extra to reach their alternate if they get diverted, plus enough for 45 minutes more flying.
Or just producing fuel in a carbon neutral way. Seems crazy to add the weight of batteries which are less energy dense when you can have higher energy density fuel that gets lighter as the flight goes on.
This is why you have the 45 minute fuel (battery) reserve, to deal with scenarios like this. It’s well covered in all pilot training.
My thoughts exactly. What happens when you fly 400 miles and need to divert to another airport because you can’t land at your destination. Talk about range anxiety!
Batteries make sense for cars, but I doubt aircraft will ever be mostly electric. There are other ways of making them green that make more sense, like hydrogen.