It’s funny they tell you the weight at takeoff. That’s uh not changing.
Heart aerospace completes first flight of largest electric aircraft
51–60 of 170 posts
Re: Heart aerospace completes first flight of largest electric aircraft
#52VTOL aircraft have the same distance capabilities and make more sense in a lot more scenarios than this, with way more flexibility. It’s obviously larger but I’m just not sure of potential advantages over other modes of transport currently available and in the near future
Aren't VTOL aircraft significantly more complex and riskier to operate than fixed-wing prop aircraft? There's certainly many fewer moving parts and tricky transitions from hover to airfoil flight regime.
A quick search of Osprey Class A mishaps puts it slightly ahead (better off) than Blackhawk or Super Stallion.
But a way worse record when compared to the fixed-wing C-130.
Both comparisons are per 100k flight hours.
Some of that risk can possibly be mitigated with a rotating engine, but fixed wing, similar to the Bell Valor. Possibly, because AFAIK, the Valor is the only plane like this and it's just a PoC.
Re: Heart aerospace completes first flight of largest electric aircraft
#53At 120 miles of useful pure electric range, I can't imagine there are many US corridors where that pure electric range makes sense. That's still a range where the door to door time of a car can still win. I wonder why they don't push the idea of it being a hybrid more, as it seems to me a lot of useful routes are going to rely on the generators. I'd love to see something that can do around 250mi. It would be nice to…
Remember the days when people laughed at the range and charge times of first-gen electric vehicles?
Re: Heart aerospace completes first flight of largest electric aircraft
#54Earlier quoted context omitted.
I've never quite understood negative electric/gas/oil prices. Are you literally paid for agreeing to receive the energy?
Yep. Last August the total cost to charge my car for the month was -10SEK of about -$1.05 US, as my energy company was trying to put load into its batteries at the times when the grid most needed it.
>my energy company was trying to put load into its batteries at the times when the grid most needed it.
I'm not sure I understood this sentence?
Re: Heart aerospace completes first flight of largest electric aircraft
#55Electric aircraft makes no economic sense, but I'd want to see them flying one day nonetheless.
For short haul they make sense at high fuel prices.
And for medium haul they make sense if you can get beamed power working.
Re: Heart aerospace completes first flight of largest electric aircraft
#56could we relax the security around electric planes, because they don't carry as much highly explosive material? that could make it much more convenient and appealing as a travel method
You don't see megawatt-hours of energy in batteries as potentially dangerous?
Jetfuel is dense and energetic.
Re: Heart aerospace completes first flight of largest electric aircraft
#57could someone explain to me how that $5 spend is lying to me. i know elec is cheap, but that cheap?
$5 does not make sense, and there must be some qualifer on that we're missing. Napkin math: (27 minute flight) * (25000 lbm TOGW) * (Earth gravity) / (~10 average L/D) * (160 KTAS average) / (70% propulsive efficiency) / (97% coulombic efficiency) * ($50/MWh) = $30 (Add residual kinetic energy upon landing too) Side note: Heart also has a weight issue here they'll need to overcome if they want to certify under FAR Pa…
It's a 30-pax (32-seat), Part 25.
Re: Heart aerospace completes first flight of largest electric aircraft
#58beta also seems to do their flight testing in plattsburgh, ny, anyone know why?
New York State is funding Plattsburgh as an electric aviation R&D hub, and actually gave BETA $20M in a grant.
Re: Heart aerospace completes first flight of largest electric aircraft
#59could we relax the security around electric planes, because they don't carry as much highly explosive material? that could make it much more convenient and appealing as a travel method
Jet fuel, like diesel are not flammable, let alone explosive. They are combustible.
Gasoline on the other hand …
Re: Heart aerospace completes first flight of largest electric aircraft
#60At 120 miles of useful pure electric range, I can't imagine there are many US corridors where that pure electric range makes sense. That's still a range where the door to door time of a car can still win. I wonder why they don't push the idea of it being a hybrid more, as it seems to me a lot of useful routes are going to rely on the generators. I'd love to see something that can do around 250mi. It would be nice to…
>"At 120 miles of useful pure electric range, I can't imagine there are many US corridors where that pure electric range makes sense. That's still a range where the door to door time of a car can still win." It's about feeding the existing network. Millions of people in the US live in places a 2+hr drive to the nearest major airport, but have plenty of smaller municipal fields nearby. Electric aviation could finally…
> Millions of people in the US live in places a 2+hr drive to the nearest major airport
If its >2 hour drive to the airport this plane probably isn't going to take you there on pure-electric power, that's my point. If you drive 65MPH for two hours, you've gone further than this thing can fly (on pure battery).