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It would be pretty fantastic if this could go San Francisco to Los Angeles. A traditional plane flight takes so long at the airport, it ends up barely worth it.
by lacker 3y ago
It would be pretty fantastic if this could go San Francisco to Los Angeles. A traditional plane flight takes so long at the airport, it ends up barely worth it.
High speed rail in California would also be great, but they've been working on it for 15 years already, and at this rate, it doesn't look like the project will finish in the next 50 years.
- kylehotchkiss 3y agoEven San Francisco to some of the smaller CA/OR coastal towns would open up a lot of vacation potential. I really hope this seaplane works out!
- tootie 3y agoOr crossing the Long Island Sound.
- baron816 3y agoYeah a high speed ferry of Fisherman’s Wharf > Monterey > SLO > SB > LA > SD would be incredible. I’d pay a nice premium for that.
- schoen 3y agoIt seems like if they didn't have to deal with San Francisco Bay, these speeds could get them to Monterey in a bit over half an hour (!!). But I bet navigating safely across the Bay and under the Golden Gate Bridge (probably in "hull" mode) could end up being a comparable amount of time in its own right. Having all that other marine traffic around in all directions (and maybe stricter noise restriction) is a big limitation.
- andrewgodwin 3y agoUnfortunately, at their stated range of 160nm, you're looking at only getting as far as Big Sur before the entire craft needs a recharge - it's much more aimed at island and port hopping, I suspect, than long distance travel. Still, I am excited to see ground-effect vehicles/ekranoplans back in vogue!
- wthalheimer 3y agoWith today's tech you're spot on. As batteries advance though, we expect ranges closer to 500 miles by the end of the decade, which would indeed enable SF<>LA!
- styfle 3y agoAssuming battery tech advances, how long would you expect SF<>LA trip to take?
- sgtnoodle 3y ago3x increase in battery capacity in the next 7 years seems rather optimistic to me. Are there any specific battery advancements in the development pipeline that you know of? How are you managing battery degradation, especially given that you're planning for high charge rates with quick turnaround? Do you have an idea of how many pack replacements you'll need over the lifetime of the rest of the aircraft?
- scythe 3y agoIIRC, a lot of the energy use in a plane flight is due to the initial acceleration. So double the capacity is more than double the distance. You can also just use a bigger battery when the weight efficiency is better. Amprius is planning to offer a silicon nanowire anode sometime in the next decade it seems, which probably won't double the capacity, but it would be a significant improvement.
- dragonwriter 3y ago> It would be pretty fantastic if this could go San Francisco to Los Angeles It can't, at least not nonstop: 160 nautical mile range, and SF to LA is about twice that straight line, and even longer following an overwater route. The planned 400nm range nexg gen battery tech upgrade is probably in the neighborhood, though.
- simonw 3y agoI wonder if it might be worth having a little change-plane station at the half-way point - Cambria is nice! Or do that thing Tesla tried to do: Land the plane, swap out the battery for a fully charged one, take off again. EDIT: Here's why swapping batteries isn't likely worthwhile: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36053417 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36053417
- mikeklinker129 3y agoEven if it took similar transit time, it would be half the cost, and you don't have to go SFO first :)
- deleted 3y ago[deleted]