new electric aircraft

[jackc]

They should do ONE aircraft, and then fly the wings off it, testing extensively before finally committing. 

[Freizeitpilot]

I suspect the regulator will have a long look, before electric converted aircraft are let loose on the public….and rightly so.

[jackc]

3 minutes ago, Freizeitpilot said:

I suspect the regulator will have a long look, before electric converted aircraft are let loose on the public….and rightly so.

But I wonder IF CASA is able to look at this new technology, in a timely and knowledgeable way.   Regulatory work from them is usually a hurry up AND……wait regime. 🤢

[turboplanner]

3 minutes ago, jackc said:

But I wonder IF CASA is able to look at this new technology, in a timely and knowledgeable way.   Regulatory work from them is usually a hurry up AND……wait regime. 🤢

It's not new technology. Hopefully the RA training aircraft are out there racking up training hours.

Remember they set an endurance record, admittedly by being followed by two car crews with trailer-mounted generators. But range isn't an issue if the proposed operation is withing the aircraft's range and safety margin.

[jackc]

The training use will be limited, number of circuits before recharge needed?  Probably no cross country endorsements? Aircraft limited range will mean no real hire out possibilities.

This will mean far higher hourly training cost.  Not to mention train in electric than add extra hours for training on piston type, to get signed off for RPC..

[turboplanner]

9 minutes ago, jackc said:

The training use will be limited, number of circuits before recharge needed?  Probably no cross country endorsements? Aircraft limited range will mean no real hire out possibilities.

This will mean far higher hourly training cost.  Not to mention train in electric than add extra hours for training on piston type, to get signed off for RPC.

That was more or less what we concluded when we were discussing the aircraft operating in SA at the time.

 

It's consistent with range still being in the Top 4 EV issues when loaded and operating at highway speeds and in country areas.

 

For RA airctraft training I would still look at a 70 kts product, so dramatically less hp consumed per circuit, and legal for 500 foot circuits, so less full power climb, less distance per circuit, more training circuits per hour.

 

Those two things mean lower up front cost as well for the airctraft.

 

Sure, it's not going to be used for cross country training, and qualified students are not going to be hiring it for trips away, but from my experience people who want to do that move almost immediately to something like an Arrow anyway, so it will cost them less to do the cross country training in GA.

[kgwilson]

Electro Aero based at Jandakot near Perth manufacture charging equipment for the aviation industry & have had an electric training aircraft since 2018. It is a Pipistrel Alpha. It has 1 hour endurance & recharging takes 45 minutes & costs about $3.00 in electricity for an hours flying. This was the first in the Southern Hemisphere. The technology is not new & the original Alpha was built in 2015. I believe they created a quick replaceable battery pack at some point which takes about 15 minutes to swap.

 

In 2015 watt hours per kg of a Li-ion battery was less than 200. The latest Li-ion  batteries can achieve 360 WH/kg and the new semi solid state battery from TNE can achieve 720 WH/kg. The same weight of battery using the new tech should provide 3-4 hours endurance for the same aircraft. That is pretty good progress and pretty good endurance for this aircraft.

 

 

[mkennard]

 

[BrendAn]

44 minutes ago, kgwilson said:

Electro Aero based at Jandakot near Perth manufacture charging equipment for the aviation industry & have had an electric training aircraft since 2018. It is a Pipistrel Alpha. It has 1 hour endurance & recharging takes 45 minutes & costs about $3.00 in electricity for an hours flying. This was the first in the Southern Hemisphere. The technology is not new & the original Alpha was built in 2015. I believe they created a quick replaceable battery pack at some point which takes about 15 minutes to swap.

 

In 2015 watt hours per kg of a Li-ion battery was less than 200. The latest Li-ion  batteries can achieve 360 WH/kg and the new semi solid state battery from TNE can achieve 720 WH/kg. The same weight of battery using the new tech should provide 3-4 hours endurance for the same aircraft. That is pretty good progress and pretty good endurance for this aircraft.

 

 

We had a whole thread on this one a few months back. There is also a video on a school in Sweden that uses them and green power to charge them . Pretty limited though.  I think they get 20 minutes flight time plus taxi and take off.

 

Edited April 17 by BrendAn