3 ms·
Sao Paulo is the city with the highest number of helicopters. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2008/jun/20/brazil https://www.theguardian.com/world/2008/jun/20
by joak 3y ago
Sao Paulo is the city with the highest number of helicopters. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2008/jun/20/brazil https://www.theguardian.com/world/2008/jun/20/brazil
They probably know where the costs are. Maintenance and fuel I guess... And electric VTOLs are far cheaper on these two.
- nradov 3y agoThat remains to be proven. In theory, maintenance might eventually be cheaper. But there are still a lot of mechanical parts which will require periodic manual inspection every certain number of cycles or operating hours. Electric motors are simpler than combustion engines but eVTOL designs tend to have a lot of them for control and reliability. Crew expenses will be similar (autonomous operation with passengers is still many years away). Electricity may be cheaper than fuel, but recharging times will be critical for profitable operation.
- smugma 3y agoBattery swap probably makes more sense here.