By Paul Homewood
h/t Mr Grim
And they call it progress!!
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The BBC naturally give it a glowing report, but Yahoo News point out some of the inconvenient facts:
Hopes for one day powering commercial airplanes with electricity instead of fossil fuels took a big leap forward this week when a Cessna commuter propellor plane modified to run on electricity successfully completed a 30-minute test flight in central Washington.
Two Seattle-area companies were behind the feat: MagniX, which designed the electric motor, and AeroTEC, an aerospace engineering and certification company that modified the plane. They say it was the largest all-electric passenger or cargo aircraft ever to fly. The test also follows a similar first flight in Vancouver in December of a seaplane powered by the same MagniX electric motor.
Normally seating up to 14 passengers, the Cessna 208B Grand Caravan that circled Moses Lake, Washington, was retrofitted with a 750-horsepower/560 kW Magni500 electric motor that weighs 297 pounds. Power came from a 750-volt lithium-ion battery system that weighs two tons, including cooling equipment. Those batteries took up most of the cabin, leaving little room for passengers, MagniX CEO Roei Ganzarski told the Seattle Times.
The low energy density of batteries has been a major barrier to economically feasible commercial air travel, a market MagniX is targeting, and the test highlights the ever-growing need to develop smaller and lighter batteries. While air travel accounts for a far smaller share of global CO2 emissions than either passenger cars or powerplants, airplane emissions have grown much faster than predicted as global demand for air travel (notwithstanding the current coronavirus pandemic) exploded.
The two companies are pitching the modified Cessnas as perfect for operating routes of less than 500 miles that transport 5 to 12 people between regional cities formerly operated by small, so-called “commuter” airlines, AeroTEC CEO Lee Human told FlightGlobal. Those carriers have mostly all folded as the airline industry moved to larger regional jet service. The Times also notes that because Cessnas and similar-sized planes are already certified by the Federal Aviation Administration for commercial flights, getting modified e-plane versions certified should be faster than certifying an all-new electric airplane design. Ganzarski said he expects his propulsion system to be certified by the end of 2021.
FlightGlobal also reports that because they burn no fuel, have fewer moving parts and less complexity than conventional jets, electric Cessnas cost only about half as much to operate as internal combustion engines. The Magni500 reportedly consumed about $6 worth of electricity during the half-hour test flight.
https://ca.news.yahoo.com/battery-electric-cessna-passenger-plane-120000906.html
Put simply, the batteries take up so much space that there is only room for about half the normal passenger load. This makes the claimed saving on operational costs rather superfluous.
But far more damaging is the massive reduction in range. The proper turboprop Cessna has a range of over 1200 miles. This new battery model is pitched at less than 500 miles, meaning its applicability for long distance trips is next to useless.
It is also claimed that it will be ideal for shorter distance commuter travel. But how long will it take to recharge the batteries after each trip? A proper airplane can be refuelled and off the ground within minutes. The duracell bunny version will likely take hours, making it next to useless for regular commuting.
Despite the BBC’s puff, this trial proves nothing. Battery powered flight has always been a technical possibility, and this new project proves nothing we did not already know.
On the contrary, it confirms that the very real problems we already knew about still exist. That is the low energy density of batteries, which mean that they take up far too much space and weigh too much.
This in turn severely limits the carrying capacity and range. The idea, as suggested, that “hopes for one day powering commercial airplanes with electricity instead of fossil fuels took a big leap forward this week” is frankly absurd.
Meanwhile, in other news, Roger Harrabin reports on plans to introduce a new transatlantic Hindenberg service, with local connections arranged by the Montgolfier brothers!
via NOT A LOT OF PEOPLE KNOW THAT
May 30, 2020 at 03:57PM
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