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It seems that electric plane will have one big pain point in adoption for larger passenger craft: the time to refuel/recharge the batteries. Gate dwell time is
by rtkwe 8y ago
It seems that electric plane will have one big pain point in adoption for larger passenger craft: the time to refuel/recharge the batteries. Gate dwell time is one of the major costs for an airline both in terms of lost revenue and in fees charged by the airport itself.
- adenadel 8y agoPossibly stupid question: Would battery swaps be a reasonable solution to this?
- rbanffy 8y agoThese planes are hybrids - they use a turbine to charge batteries and power the EDF engines. I suppose the batteries are used for take off and cruise flight is mostly powered by the turbine (that doesn't have to be powerful enough for takeoff). Landing, again, can be purely electric.
- rtkwe 8y agoIt could, but it will complicate the design a bit since you have to have very easy and quick access to the battery which means a new piece of machinery on the ground to swap the battery and exterior access hatches.