I was just about to post this same video. The trouble they had with the big generator at the field site was interesting. I imagine that like a Tesla it can charge from a 120VAC 15A (or euro/world 230-240V, 10A circuit) overnight, but it will be much, much slower to reach full capacity. It's good that they honestly state the limitations that it's best suited for flight training applications where it will always return to the same field.
Imagine trying to fly that thing from Perth to Adelaide in individual 50-minute hops between outback airfields... Impossible.
Yeah, the reality check in that video was eye opening. Clearly it’s a deliberate strategy to roll these things out at flight schools at first, so they’re always circling within landing range.
Electric planes will definitely graduate to short hop commutes eventually though and not just be niche training vehicles, especially when you consider how much safer they are than jet engines: they have way less moving parts, require less maintenance, and most importantly, they don’t stress the airframe nearly as much.
And that’s just with current airplane designs retrofitted for electric (which is essentially what these training planes are) instead of the upcoming designs that are built with many small electric motors and not the giant jet engines.
Lilium is an example of the new style of electric plane, with motors distributed through the wing:
walrus01|7 years ago
Imagine trying to fly that thing from Perth to Adelaide in individual 50-minute hops between outback airfields... Impossible.
alabut|7 years ago
Electric planes will definitely graduate to short hop commutes eventually though and not just be niche training vehicles, especially when you consider how much safer they are than jet engines: they have way less moving parts, require less maintenance, and most importantly, they don’t stress the airframe nearly as much.
And that’s just with current airplane designs retrofitted for electric (which is essentially what these training planes are) instead of the upcoming designs that are built with many small electric motors and not the giant jet engines.
Lilium is an example of the new style of electric plane, with motors distributed through the wing:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ohig71bwRUE
taneq|7 years ago