The potentially revolutionary Celera 500L aircraft

Post by aliswe » Sat, Aug 29, 2020, 5:05 PM UTC

qzw wrote: post #58

scarier wrote: post #45

For some perspective, the Scaled Composites Catbird (powered by a 210-hp V6) achieved just over 20 mpg at 200 mph with close to 1000 lbs of payload (it could carry a pilot and four passengers) in the late '80s and early '90s. Amateur-built experimentals have achieved upwards of 50 mpg in realistic flying conditions, but they generally tended to be tandem-seat designs with minimal frontal area and low-powered engines.…

Definitely some extraodinary claims that will require extraordinary evidence to prove. Especially getting 20+ mpg for 4500 miles, while flying at 450mph, which is near the top end of what piston/propeller aircraft are capable of. For reference, the P51 (one of the fastest fighters of WWII) had a comparable top speed. The Piaggio Avanti [0] has a somewhat similar design and top speed (460 high speed cruise), but has t…

Just a nitpick, extraordinary claims normally do not require extraordinary evidence. For example, to gather evidence that, for example, there is a man who could run for 50mph in short bursts, it would require nothing but ordinary evidence. Have a nice day!

Post by GeorgeOu » Sat, Aug 29, 2020, 9:44 PM UTC

scarier wrote: post #95

Robotbeat wrote: post #90

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is optimized for really long distance flight, thousands of miles. That’s the whole point. Cruise height of 30,000ft, I think. Why would you be shocked by flying at heights comparable to typical jet aircraft flying similar distances?

I wouldn't be surprised by a long-range cruise altitude around FL300, but if it was FL450 I'd be extremely surprised. If the plane achieves the advertised 20mpg on a hypothetical 4500-mile flight at FL500, but only makes a small fraction of that on a more realistic 400-mile regional hop at FL210, it's not really a practical success. (Aside: the advertised range seems like drastic overkill for something designed to of…

11 hours in a private plane with lots of room and being able to lay down flat or be in a zero gravity chair would be sheer luxury compared to many flights I've taken. My last long distance flight took 24 hours of travel to get from San Jose to Israel with 3 legs in Coach and going through multiple security gates. One time I flew 16 hours Coach from LA to Guanzhou China and that was a second leg. My tail bone was in pain for a day from sitting that long.

If an airplane like this meant being able to fly private, it's completely worth it. One other factor you have to consider is that this plane can probably use tiny airports which shaves a 4 hours of additional driving and security gates. I'd rather be in a slower flying plane for 7 hours than fly for 4 hours but spend 4 additional hours at security gates and car traffic.

Re: The potentially revolutionary Celera 500L aircraft

Re: The potentially revolutionary Celera 500L aircraft