Re:Airbus reveals the next generation of CityAirbus
by hef19898 on Wednesday September 22, 2021 @11:45AM
(#28617707)
The predecessor had its First Flight in 2019:
https://www.airbus.com/innovation/zero-emission/urban-air-mo...
Re:Airbus reveals the next generation of CityAirbus
by me_me_me on Wednesday September 22, 2021 @12:34PM
(#28618421)
electric flight might be an empty promise.
The weight of the tanks never drops, so you are flying always full tank plane, the energy density of batteries is much lower -> heavier tanks
And you'd better hope there is no battery fire. Those are vicious.
But electric flight is without a doubt going to revolutionize commuter airlines. With an electric powertrain, you get rid of the vast majority of costs associated with flying which are the intensive maintenance and overhaul schedules required for turboprop/turbofan engines. You can then economically fly small traditional aircraft with electric powertrains carrying ~10 passengers up to 250 miles at 200mph with current battery tech, and takeoff/land from tiny municipal airports with no need for TSA. At that point flying becomes like hopping on a bus, and just as cheap. Living within 250 miles of a metro area and commuting every day will be a nonissue. Something like the Eviation Alice [0] is far more likely to be the future than any of these VTOL concepts.
[0] https://www.eviation.co/