4 ms·

Unfortunately that defeats the purpose of a trainer, because "real" planes, which the trainer is supposed to prepare you for, won't be electric for quite a bit,

Unfortunately that defeats the purpose of a trainer, because "real" planes, which the trainer is supposed to prepare you for, won't be electric for quite a bit, so you do need to learn all about the intricacies and issues which can crop up on those planes. Even assuming a rather speedy pace of improvement in battery tech, the power/weight ratio won't be there for quite a while. Batteries also don't get lighter as their energy is consumed, like fuel does, and many planes cannot even land with the same weight they are allowed to take off with.

grecy 9y ago
Of course, this means a student can start in this electric trainer, and focus on learning the flying right off the bat. When a student has that down, they can graduate up to a trainer with an ICE, and then learn all of that stuff. Exactly like learning to drive a car in an automatic first, then once you have the actual vehicle control/traffic/etc down, you graduate up to a stick shift.
- rowyourboat 9y ago
  Except that in countries where stick shift dominates, you start off learning to drive a stick right away.
  - mrob 9y ago
    Unlike airplanes, cars have no stall speed. You first lesson involves driving at very low speeds, away from traffic. If you have any trouble shifting you can just stop. Airplanes are less forgiving.
    - pdelbarba 9y ago
      Electric vs ICE trainers won't have much in the way of differences. The main procedural differences will be engine start (just follow the checklist) and low power conditions where carb heat is required (becoming slightly less common now that fuel injection is available and relatively cheap). The most common trainer is the C172 which is high wing and therefore doesn't need an electric fuel pump or tank switching so that's about it.
    - 659087 9y ago
      That's why you have an instructor. Just as a decent driving instructor won't let you blow a red light, a decent flight instructor (who has the ability to take control of the aircraft, unlike a driving instructor) isn't going to let you enter an unplanned stall, or leave you on your own to deal with more than you're ready to handle at any given time.
mikeash 9y ago
It hardly "defeats the purpose." You'll still learn to fly. You just won't learn to manage engines, which you can learn later on. Learning the two things separately is probably a good thing, since it'll let you focus on one thing at a time. This isn't a new concept, either. It's relatively common to learn to fly gliders before transitioning to powered aircraft. The US Air Force Academy has the largest glider operation in the world, for example.
aphextron 9y ago
>Unfortunately that defeats the purpose of a trainer, because "real" planes, which the trainer is supposed to prepare you for, won't be electric for quite a bit, so you do need to learn all about the intricacies and issues which can crop up on those planes. Not at all. The vast majority of primary flight training is best spent on so called "stick and rudder" skills. The basics of flying do not change at all from an electric powered ultralight to a Boeing 777.

grecy 9y ago

Of course, this means a student can start in this electric trainer, and focus on learning the flying right off the bat. When a student has that down, they can graduate up to a trainer with an ICE, and then learn all of that stuff. Exactly like learning to drive a car in an automatic first, then once you have the actual vehicle control/traffic/etc down, you graduate up to a stick shift.

rowyourboat 9y ago
Except that in countries where stick shift dominates, you start off learning to drive a stick right away.
- mrob 9y ago
  Unlike airplanes, cars have no stall speed. You first lesson involves driving at very low speeds, away from traffic. If you have any trouble shifting you can just stop. Airplanes are less forgiving.
  - pdelbarba 9y ago
    Electric vs ICE trainers won't have much in the way of differences. The main procedural differences will be engine start (just follow the checklist) and low power conditions where carb heat is required (becoming slightly less common now that fuel injection is available and relatively cheap). The most common trainer is the C172 which is high wing and therefore doesn't need an electric fuel pump or tank switching so that's about it.
  - 659087 9y ago
    That's why you have an instructor. Just as a decent driving instructor won't let you blow a red light, a decent flight instructor (who has the ability to take control of the aircraft, unlike a driving instructor) isn't going to let you enter an unplanned stall, or leave you on your own to deal with more than you're ready to handle at any given time.

mikeash 9y ago

It hardly "defeats the purpose." You'll still learn to fly. You just won't learn to manage engines, which you can learn later on. Learning the two things separately is probably a good thing, since it'll let you focus on one thing at a time. This isn't a new concept, either. It's relatively common to learn to fly gliders before transitioning to powered aircraft. The US Air Force Academy has the largest glider operation in the world, for example.

aphextron 9y ago

>Unfortunately that defeats the purpose of a trainer, because "real" planes, which the trainer is supposed to prepare you for, won't be electric for quite a bit, so you do need to learn all about the intricacies and issues which can crop up on those planes. Not at all. The vast majority of primary flight training is best spent on so called "stick and rudder" skills. The basics of flying do not change at all from an electric powered ultralight to a Boeing 777.