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> 500nm range is a serious deficiency in this class of aircraft My thoughts exactly. What happens when you fly 400 miles and need to divert to another airport
by nostromo 6y ago
> 500nm range is a serious deficiency in this class of aircraft
My thoughts exactly. What happens when you fly 400 miles and need to divert to another airport because you can’t land at your destination. Talk about range anxiety!
Batteries make sense for cars, but I doubt aircraft will ever be mostly electric. There are other ways of making them green that make more sense, like hydrogen.
- stickfigure 6y agoYou don't just go up in the air and wander around yelping various airports; air travel is meticulously planned. There's no "range anxiety", your destination is either within range or not and you figure that out on the ground.
- nostromo 6y agoHah... you should talk to more GA folks, which are the people who will be flying this plane. Think: doctors, software engineers, and car dealership owners.
- ipython 6y agoGasoline powered engines also fail once the tanks are empty... This is why you have the 45 minute fuel (battery) reserve, to deal with scenarios like this. It’s well covered in all pilot training.
- jeffreyrogers 6y ago> There are other ways of making them green that make more sense, like hydrogen. Or just producing fuel in a carbon neutral way. Seems crazy to add the weight of batteries which are less energy dense when you can have higher energy density fuel that gets lighter as the flight goes on.
- TylerE 6y agoThe 500nm is quoted, as with all aircraft ranges, with the legally-mandated 45 minute reserve. So it's 500nm + 45 minutes at cruise speed (= ~200nm or so)
- nostromo 6y agoSure, but it's still very short. How are they even going to deliver this plane? That's not enough range for a ferry pilot to deliver it to Europe or Asia, even hopping at every available airport around the Arctic.
- tzs 6y agoHow is that any different from non-electric planes? Generally, they don't just fill airliner tanks full for every flight. They fill them with enough to reach their destination, plus enough extra to reach their alternate if they get diverted, plus enough for 45 minutes more flying.
- manigandham 6y agoAll aircraft have a range. Your flight plan (and contingencies) just has to fit in the envelope or you don't go.
- cecilpl2 6y agoIt's "500 nm range with 45-minute IFR reserves". Reserve time is built into the range number.