Earlier quoted context omitted.
A better idea would be to dig oil out of the ground, process it into kerosene, and use that to power jet turbines on the aircraft.
At some point we're going to need to stop doing that, hence the need for alternative ideas.
London-Paris electric flight 'in decade'
161–165 of 165 posts
Re: London-Paris electric flight 'in decade'
#162Earlier quoted context omitted.
Any sensible proposal for electric systems for commercial aircraft is going to aim for batteries to be safely swappable in 10-15 minutes. (Though they can still make delays from unexpected diversions to airports without a stock of batteries worse)
The structural penalties for making "most of the weight of the aircraft" removable will probably lead to a plane that doesn't fly.
Re: London-Paris electric flight 'in decade'
#163Why not hydrogen? Stuffing a Mirai's guts into a turboprop is a project we could do today. Solves the waiting/hoping for battery technology problem and saves Toyota's $billions invested in r&d from the toilet.
How do you store the hydrogen?
Re: London-Paris electric flight 'in decade'
#164Earlier quoted context omitted.
What you're saying. The only reason to take a plane vs taking a train for this distance is the price. Usually planes are way cheaper. But the hassle of taking a plane is really making it a tough sell as you say.
Train tickets are anywhere between 60 and 300 pounds for this route. The cheapest plane tickets for the same route I've found were 80 pounds and there is no upper limit. I don't see much difference in price to be honest (+ getting to the airport is usually way more expensive).