41–50 of 169 posts
@jjsylvestre - what are your thoughts on ZeroAvia?
And cooling, lots of big electrical plant uses H2 for a cooling medium as it has about 22 times better heat transfer than air - I can see the peroblems, but you can't light up 100% H2, it's when it gets some air with it is the problem.
I actually have a bucket load more, I am Elec Eng/Func Safety/Systems Integrator/Embedded guy and many years ago did my final engineering project on a software package to design high frequency inductors optimised for weight or efficiency, for space use. So all in all I am super interested to see how you go and what you can squeeze out. Will you run a blog or update of some kind?
May your end copper (silver) be short, if you have any.
Why assume that the future aircraft fundamental design has to remain same and electrify the trusters? Current aircrafts have evolved into their current shape from restrictions and capabilities
The big advantage of using existing airframes is that you dramatically reduce certification costs and commercialization time. If you can "retrofit" an existing airframe with electric propulsion, then you can get to market a lot faster. You're absolutely right though - changing the airframe design and moving to distributed propulsion can lead to improvements in aerodynamic efficiency, L/D, and fault tolerance.
Why design first (solution looking for problem)?
Earlier quoted context omitted.
> One aircraft we looked at required 30-35MW during takeoff and ~10MW during cruise. Do you envision some airframes to include assisted take-off technology? (JATO and the like, even catapults)
I think most forms of assisted takeoff technology would reduce electrical power requirements for takeoff, but not put much of a dent in the climb power (unless you can catapult/ JATO all the way up to cruising altitude, which would be challenging). Since climb power is still significantly higher than cruise power, and is effectively thermal steady state for these components (10-20min), it would still drive the propul…
Ad the pilot of the plane with two 285HP piston engines with an MTOW around 5,700 pounds, I am curious: what kind of endurance could I get if I replaced my fuel tanks with about 1000 pounds of batteries and used your motors? Assume operating at 225 HP during climb, cruise and descent and full power during takeoff and initial climb out (5 minutes or less). Thanks! (Reference Cessna 310R for more details.)
Have you considered to jettison some of the batteries during and/or after take-off? Probably not just drop them, maybe a controlled glider or similar, plus what are the posibilities for an in the air charge by tether to another plane? Final super radical idea, have some iflatable high chord wings for take off at low speed high drag and lift, then ditch them somehow once at altitude and can do a anouever with stored h…
Have you considered to jettison some of the batteries during and/or after take-off? Probably not just drop them, maybe a controlled glider or similar, plus what are the posibilities for an in the air charge by tether to another plane? Final super radical idea, have some iflatable high chord wings for take off at low speed high drag and lift, then ditch them somehow once at altitude and can do a anouever with stored h…
They have a nice animation showing the lifter and the cruiser vehicles.
Have you considered to jettison some of the batteries during and/or after take-off? Probably not just drop them, maybe a controlled glider or similar, plus what are the posibilities for an in the air charge by tether to another plane? Final super radical idea, have some iflatable high chord wings for take off at low speed high drag and lift, then ditch them somehow once at altitude and can do a anouever with stored h…
An electric trolley plane? Basically add a rail in the runway that powers the plane through take off, with the batteries engaging once in the air.
You guys should contact (some of) the F1 teams. They would certainly love to have more efficient motors in their hybrid PUs. A 5kg saving is literally worth millions in that business. Also Formula-E might be interested, but I don't know how free they are in their choice of material, so you might want to talk to the organizers.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Also, cargo UAV is a big one right now. Many UAM companies are using this as a stepping stone to start generating revenue while they certify their aircraft. Marine is a big one though.. especially in Scandinavia. Lots of interest in electrifying boats and ships there.
Is the scale of the engine for marine applications very different to aviation? Ferries usually have huge hulking diesels so I'm curious what the equivalent electric powertrain is like. I'm also assuming that a scaled down version would be ideal for personal watercraft?
Looking at Taiga Motor's electric jet ski, 250kW would be a bit on the high-side. It would also be a very expensive jet ski :) https://taigamotors.ca/watercraft/