Electric Powered Beaver in BC, w Seattle made Power Plant

[Reams Goodloe]

https://insights.globalspec.com/article/13136/watch-the-flight-of-the-first-commercial-electric-plane

It appears that electric powered Beavers will eventually be employed for the Salish Sea float plane runs...

- Reams

[Tom Charlton]

https://insights.globalspec.com/arti...electric-plane
It appears that electric powered Beavers will eventually be employed for the Salish Sea float plane runs...

Hi Reams,
Blasphemy I tell you! Supposed to be a greasy ole 985 hang’n out front there<grin>.

Quote from the article:

The battery-powered system will provide enough environmentally friendly, efficient power for 30 minute flights and 30 minutes of reserve power.

Electric motor technology? Good to go.
Battery technology? We just ain’t there yet. But . . . with the impetus being brought to bare all over the world . . . I’m optimistic / hopeful. A doubling of existing battery capability will be a game changer on many fronts. Interesting times ahead.

Hmm, before ya know it, Capt. Sohn will be driving to BPs in an electric car<g>!

Regards,
Tom Charlton

[Randy Sohn]

"Supposed to be a greasy ole 985 hang’n out front there<grin>"

If'n there ain't no oil ON it, then there's no oil IN it! Chuckle, <g> also

best, randy

[Terry Carraway]

30 minute flight with 30 minute reserve.

Then, how do you charge it for the return flight????

[Ralph Jones]

Then, how do you charge it for the return flight????

Quick-change batteries?

[Terry Carraway]

Quick-change batteries?

With heavy equipment.

560 kW motor, 1 hour run time.......

[Reams Goodloe]

https://spectrum.ieee.org/energywise/aerospace/aviation/first-passenger-electric-aircraft-to-take-off-soon

More details here...

I'd guess a hybrid electric aircraft will get into commercial service first, somewhere. That's what Boeing and Jet Blue are aiming for....

The design contest that was won by a "clean sheet" concept using a Toyota Mirai hydrogen fuel cell for a GA aircraft seems to be the most practical concept from a range standpoint, but perhaps the most impractical given current LH2 or compressed H2 availability.....

- Reams-

[Terry Carraway]

And with H2, you have to make it. It is not mined. So there are losses in the production process. Also, the small molecule is hard to keep inside something, so losses in transport.

[Reams Goodloe]

Terry -

Most current work seems to say that you retain about 95% of the H2 during distribution and transport, so something less than 5% losses. That's about 10 times the worst case estimates for current hydrocarbon fuels distribution. But, environmental effects of the hydrogen losses are not significant...

There is some interesting work going on in natural gas pyrolysis for hydrogen production, which is said to produce only solid carbon and hydrogen, which would be great if production costs are competitive. Current hydrogen production from steam reforming leaves/discharges CO2, so it isn't great for the environment<G>

Long term, it would seem likely that piston driven internal combustion engines will eventually be replaced in all but vintage aircraft.... .. but whether by batteries/electric motors, or fuel cells/motors, or some technology we don't know about yet, remains to be seen....

Given that energy density of gaseous hydrogen at any feasible pressure is substantially less than methane, propane, methanol, or current fuels, There don't seem to be any clear advantages for hydrogen as a GA energy source.

Reams

[Russell Holton]

But, environmental effects of the hydrogen losses are not significant...

The environmental effects of CO2 are negligible - unless it's done in massive quantities. I have to wonder what the effects of H2 would be when scaled to the same usage.