[eric strt6]

Cool article

The little tech firm gunning for an airspeed record

Electroflight has built the E-NXT which it hopes will break the electric airspeed record.

www.bbc.com

 

[Jm_]

I get what they are trying to do, but it would be a lot more impressive if they were making something more like the size/configuration of a Cirrus SR22 that could cruise for say 3 hours and cover some significant distance. Also, with battery tech you could theoretically have a pretty badass motorglider that self-launches and has almost no maintenance costs I'd think. Chasing a speed goal is "meh" IMO, someone is going to hit it and it'll be a low-drag plane like in the article and impractical for anything else. I do wonder about electric or electric-hybrid airliners that may be able to do hops up to 300-400 miles, serving most of the regional market. If they could get to say 35,000' or higher, they could glide most of the way to the destination from the top of climb. It seems like it could work, vs. the energy density required to keep a bigger airliner aloft for hours to fly beyond those distances.

 

[Toshi]

I do wonder about electric or electric-hybrid airliners that may be able to do hops up to 300-400 miles, serving most of the regional market.

Electric Aircraft Set to Take Flight by 2026 Under New Agreements with United Airlines Ventures, Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Mesa Airlines, Heart Aerospace

United Airlines signs agreement to acquire 100 of Heart Aerospace's ES-19 aircraft, a 19-seat electric airliner that has the potential to decarbonize regional air travel

hub.united.com

 

[Westy]

* Not included

 

[Changleen]

This ev plane idea has lead to some old/new ideas about prop design to make the most of ev characteristics. Looks cool.