Oh, electric self launch planes are both viable and available already. It's just a question of manufacturers making them with slightly higher battery capacity,

Oh, electric self launch planes are both viable and available already. It's just a question of manufacturers making them with slightly higher battery capacity, which seems perfectly feasible based on a napkin calculation. Current self-launch electric gliders can climb to cruise altitude and still have >20km of endurance as a contingency for recovery. If that number was 100km with high reliability, it would almost qualify as a new type of aircraft. You could do cross-country flights that you'd never attempt in an unpowered glider, e.g. above big stretches of high, mountainous terrain. The Norwegian Hardanger plateau comes to mind as an example. Un-landable terrain, 1 km above sea level with a small window for unpowered navigation, national park and absolutely beautiful.