Electric Airline Sky is the Limit

9-24-2022

Electric Airline Sky is the Limit

If you like to fly as much as I do, maybe you better pay attention to the latest buzz from “Greenies-R-Us” (not a real entity). A few days ago I read this short but interesting article about how commercial airlines have been testing what I’ll refer to as “ePlanes”, which are nothing more than flying Lithuanian batteries strapped to the bottom of coach class seating (and everywhere else). I don’t cotton to the idea of flying electric any more than I see the benefit of driving electric. It’s what I call frying your eggs in one basket.

Realistically is like asking for trouble, without asking.

Think back when electricity was invented did they go out and plaster all the houses in all the neighborhoods over night with light sockets and electrical outlets BEFORE they figured out how to transmit electricity from one place to another first. I think not. No it took baby steps and phases to create coated wire that would carry the electrical load dependably. Then someone developed power poles and the necessary means to string the electrical power without losing most of it in the process.

I could go on and on and on.

Let us get back to those plugin planes. What are they made of? Lightweight composite materials, plastics, rubber, foam cushions and other necessary materials that come from what? Fossil fuels like petroleum, oil and lubricants, hydraulic fluids and rubber tires.

I haven’t even covered the electronics, navigation equipment, radio, radar and smoke alarms that will be needed to detect overheated batteries which according to the article that quoted engineers saying they are under the floor, in the wings and wherever else they will fit.

What ratio of passenger vs baggage vs airframe weight will these new electric toys sustain in flight?

Prepare for the worst by reviewing Alice a prototype electric aircraft that during testing became a real firecracker (pun intended).

I’m used to seeing aircraft at the terminal being hooked up to a ground power unit to keep aircraft lit, cool during summer and warm during winter as baggage and passengers are loaded and prepared for takeoff, but I’ll tell you this, should that GPU become something like a Tesla charging station I will take my business elsewhere. This would be particularly true if the pilot is caught dragging that huge plug down the runway……..-

RTM