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Re:Bye Aerospace Unveils 8-Seat All-Electric EFlyer 800 by tyingq on Friday April 23, 2021 @12:35PM (#26916465)
That feels like an extraordinary claim that calls for extraordinary detail and proof. Electric cars have lower operating and maintenance costs than ICE cars, but nothing huge like that...not even "half"...perhaps "3/4". I get that the spread would be larger for aircraft but "1/5" is a big claim. Maybe they are cherry picking the shortish time period before the aircraft needs its first major maintenance event?

Edit: It's not the lower cost I'm disputing. It's the 1/5th bit. That's a huge claim that should come with some detail. How much of that is fuel cost, maintenance...over what time period?

Re:Bye Aerospace Unveils 8-Seat All-Electric EFlyer 800 by andrepew on Friday April 23, 2021 @12:48PM (#26916606)
Engines are complicated and the maintenance and certification requirements on such a complex system in the context of aviation is very expensive. Airplane engines must be rebuilt at set time intervals even if they’re working perfectly because of what is at stake if they fail.

Electric motors are vastly simpler devices with far less moving parts. Much less to go wrong, much less to inspect and replace.

These are savings even before you get to talk about energy efficiency.

These savings aren’t realized in the car market because if the motor of a car fails, it is just an inconvenience. All that extra work doesn’t exist.

These savings aren’t theoretical either —- there are smaller scale electric aircraft used for pilot training on the market already. An hour of time in a Cessna costs $150ish/hour, these new electric planes are boasting costs of around $30/hour.

Re:Bye Aerospace Unveils 8-Seat All-Electric EFlyer 800 by Zircom on Friday April 23, 2021 @02:47PM (#26917823)
>These savings aren’t theoretical either —- there are smaller scale electric aircraft used for pilot training on the market already. An hour of time in a Cessna costs $150ish/hour, these new electric planes are boasting costs of around $30/hour.

I'm curious, do the training hours on electric planes count towards normal ICE planes? I would assume at they very least they have different operating procedures if not outright handle differently.

Re:Bye Aerospace Unveils 8-Seat All-Electric EFlyer 800 by ericpauley on Friday April 23, 2021 @12:55PM (#26916686)
This seems dubious. Even auxiliary costs of the average plane rental (hangar, insurance) can exceed that rate depending on utilization.
Re:Bye Aerospace Unveils 8-Seat All-Electric EFlyer 800 by tyingq on Friday April 23, 2021 @12:50PM (#26916627)
"These savings aren’t theoretical either —- there are smaller scale electric aircraft used for pilot training on the market already. An hour of time in a Cessna costs $150ish/hour, these new electric planes are boasting costs of around $30/hour."

That would be somewhat compelling proof, but you seem to be mixing "price offered to the renting flyer" and "cost incurred by the owner".

Re:Bye Aerospace Unveils 8-Seat All-Electric EFlyer 800 by FDSGSG on Friday April 23, 2021 @12:51PM (#26916641)
With a PC-12 you'll burn around $300 per engine hour in fuel alone, hot section inspections will come up every 1750 hours or so and cost $50k each, the engine overhauls will come up every 3500 hours and cost $350k

I wouldn't be shocked if replacing the electric motor costs less than what a turboprop inspection would.

Re:Bye Aerospace Unveils 8-Seat All-Electric EFlyer 800 by sixothree on Friday April 23, 2021 @12:50PM (#26916621)
Cars don't require a complete rebuild every 2000 hours. Maybe that's the cost they are hoping to eliminate?
Re:Bye Aerospace Unveils 8-Seat All-Electric EFlyer 800 by laverya on Friday April 23, 2021 @12:46PM (#26916591)
I think it's quite possible that the maintenance events for an electric airplane are further apart and simpler than for a traditional engine, and those maintenance costs are a very major component of total infrastructure costs.
Re:Bye Aerospace Unveils 8-Seat All-Electric EFlyer 800 by tyingq on Friday April 23, 2021 @12:47PM (#26916603)
Oh, me too. Just not to the degree that it would have 1/5th the operating costs. Especially considering the fuel doesn't get lighter as it's spent. One-fifth is a very strong claim.
Re:Bye Aerospace Unveils 8-Seat All-Electric EFlyer 800 by d_silin on Friday April 23, 2021 @12:50PM (#26916624)
For an existing electric aircraft (Pipistrel Alpha), the fuel cost advantage is claimed to be 10x of equivalent ICE-powered model.
Re:Bye Aerospace Unveils 8-Seat All-Electric EFlyer 800 by tyingq on Friday April 23, 2021 @12:59PM (#26916722)
ICE Pipistrel: "Poweredby the Rotax 912 80 HP engine it burns only 2.5 US gal (9.5 litres) of ordinary mogas fuel per hour"[1]

$6/gallon would be way on the high side estimate for mogas, so say $15 total, so we're sure to be generous.

Electric Pipistrel: "The cost of electricity per hour of flight is roughly between $4 and $6," said Krzysztof Będkowski of Pipistrel Alpha Poland."[2]

I can't work out how $4-6/$15 is 1/10. Is is attractive, for sure. Again, I'm not disputing electric is cheaper, but the claim of 1/5th the cost is pretty extraordinary.

[1] https://www.pipistrel-aircraft.com/aircraft/flight-training/...

[2] https://www.businessinsider.com/electric-plane-charges-in-ho...

Re:Bye Aerospace Unveils 8-Seat All-Electric EFlyer 800 by Zircom on Friday April 23, 2021 @02:52PM (#26917886)
Probably referring to total cost savings, not just fuel savings. As mentioned other places in this thread, electric motors have less/simpler maintenance needs than ICE engines and the TOTAL labor/parts/fuel savings is probably where the 1/5 or 1/10 claims come in.
Re:Bye Aerospace Unveils 8-Seat All-Electric EFlyer 800 by tyingq on Friday April 23, 2021 @03:04PM (#26918016)
Possibly. I was responding to "the fuel cost advantage is claimed to be 10x" though.