Post by account_disabled on Mar 13, 2024 4:38:38 GMT -5
The dream of commercially viable electric aircraft is getting closer with Eviation , an Israel-based startup, saying it plans to deliver the first of its bespoke aircraft to Cape Air, a regional airline serving New England, in Eviation began building Alice, its first -passenger electric aircraft, in The video below shows the construction and assembly process in detail.
Business Insider provides a transcript of comments made by co-founder and CEO Omer Bar-Yohay regarding that video and they are very insightful. There is a clear philosophical link between Alice and the Model S , Tesla's first electric car. Both companies chose not to electrify existing products, but to start from scratch with a pristine design. Bar-Yohay acknowledges that the batteries needed to power Alice present design problems. % of the takeoff weight of a typical commercial airplane is jet fuel. At , pounds, the weight of Alice's battery is % of the takeoff weight of the -passenger electric plane.
To compensate, the fuselage itself is made as light as possible. It is also designed to fly through the air more efficiently than conventional aircraft, which typically have a : lift/drag ratio. For Alice, that ratio is :, meaning it is more aerodynamically efficient. and consumes less energy in the air. 'The battery is not located in one place. “That battery is literally everywhere,” says Ba Caseno Email List r-Yohay. "It's under the floor, it's in the wings, it's in the fuselage in different places."
passenger electric planeRegional travel is a big part of the airline industry . In , half of the billion airline tickets sold were for regional flights, according to Business Insider, however , airlines often use planes that can fly across the Atlantic for those flights. “It's crazy because we're using the wrong tools for the job, says Bar-Yohay. In contrast, the Alice -passenger electric aircraft is designed for regional flights of up to miles at a cruising speed of mph. That covers trips like San Jose to San Diego or London to Prague. While conventional planes fly faster, electric planes like Alice are to orders of magnitude quieter than commercial jet planes and could use shorter runways. Those factors mean they can fly to and from smaller airports that are closer to travelers' final destinations.
“I think it's important for the industry to consider its responsibilities to the planet and become more sustainable in terms of emissions, but it needs to be economically viable,” says Bar-Yohay. Alice costs about $ per flight hour to operate. A turboprop with similar performance costs between $, and $, per flight hour, meaning ticket prices for Alice could be substantially lower than those for conventional aircraft. Many people would be happy to add an hour or two to their flight if they can fly for half the money. passenger electric plane
Making an electric plane is one thing. Getting airlines to buy it is quite another. “In the beginning, it was extremely difficult to convince partners, clients, anyone, investors that we didn't deceive them. Today it seems like everyone is on board and this is where the industry should go. The industry is starting to notice that there really is a tectonic shift here,” Bar-Yohay tells Business Insider .
We have seen in other industries, especially wind and solar energy , that falling prices go a long way toward calming people's fears about new technologies. Electric planes are a long way from becoming mainstream and none of them can handle the New York to Sydney route yet, but the industry is changing before our eyes. Lighter, cheaper batteries will soon hit the market, which could change the financial calculus in favor of electric airplanes. When that happens, Eviation will be ready to capitalize on the transition to electric flight.
Business Insider provides a transcript of comments made by co-founder and CEO Omer Bar-Yohay regarding that video and they are very insightful. There is a clear philosophical link between Alice and the Model S , Tesla's first electric car. Both companies chose not to electrify existing products, but to start from scratch with a pristine design. Bar-Yohay acknowledges that the batteries needed to power Alice present design problems. % of the takeoff weight of a typical commercial airplane is jet fuel. At , pounds, the weight of Alice's battery is % of the takeoff weight of the -passenger electric plane.
To compensate, the fuselage itself is made as light as possible. It is also designed to fly through the air more efficiently than conventional aircraft, which typically have a : lift/drag ratio. For Alice, that ratio is :, meaning it is more aerodynamically efficient. and consumes less energy in the air. 'The battery is not located in one place. “That battery is literally everywhere,” says Ba Caseno Email List r-Yohay. "It's under the floor, it's in the wings, it's in the fuselage in different places."
passenger electric planeRegional travel is a big part of the airline industry . In , half of the billion airline tickets sold were for regional flights, according to Business Insider, however , airlines often use planes that can fly across the Atlantic for those flights. “It's crazy because we're using the wrong tools for the job, says Bar-Yohay. In contrast, the Alice -passenger electric aircraft is designed for regional flights of up to miles at a cruising speed of mph. That covers trips like San Jose to San Diego or London to Prague. While conventional planes fly faster, electric planes like Alice are to orders of magnitude quieter than commercial jet planes and could use shorter runways. Those factors mean they can fly to and from smaller airports that are closer to travelers' final destinations.
“I think it's important for the industry to consider its responsibilities to the planet and become more sustainable in terms of emissions, but it needs to be economically viable,” says Bar-Yohay. Alice costs about $ per flight hour to operate. A turboprop with similar performance costs between $, and $, per flight hour, meaning ticket prices for Alice could be substantially lower than those for conventional aircraft. Many people would be happy to add an hour or two to their flight if they can fly for half the money. passenger electric plane
Making an electric plane is one thing. Getting airlines to buy it is quite another. “In the beginning, it was extremely difficult to convince partners, clients, anyone, investors that we didn't deceive them. Today it seems like everyone is on board and this is where the industry should go. The industry is starting to notice that there really is a tectonic shift here,” Bar-Yohay tells Business Insider .
We have seen in other industries, especially wind and solar energy , that falling prices go a long way toward calming people's fears about new technologies. Electric planes are a long way from becoming mainstream and none of them can handle the New York to Sydney route yet, but the industry is changing before our eyes. Lighter, cheaper batteries will soon hit the market, which could change the financial calculus in favor of electric airplanes. When that happens, Eviation will be ready to capitalize on the transition to electric flight.