Will passengers have to go through a screening process before they get on the plane to O'Hare? How many passengers a day are going to be transported to O'Hare? The article doesn't talk about whether or not the VTOL will take you right to the terminals. So they will have FAA approval with all facilities built such as maintenance facilities, Terminal facilities at the Helipad, Charging equipment installed, and Flight corridors approved and transporting passengers in 2 to 3 years?
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Electric planes
- Thread starter doug
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- Electric Vehicles
And I doubt the pilot for these short flights is going to be paid anywhere close to what a pilot for a major airline gets paid. You work your way up to a job at a major airline.
RichAZ/CapeCod
Member
Most likely such a design would require an autonomous aircraft for it to be viable economically.
Rich
These things actually offer no advantage over helicopters, unless they are cheaper to build and operate. They might actually be cheaper than helicopters. But probably not by enough to become accessible to the general public. Today you can charter a helicopter to take you anywhere a helicopter can legally go. It's very expensive. Before I moved away from the area, I used to spend my summers hiking at upscale hiking lodged in south-eastern British Columbia. Many of these lodges are accessed by helicopter. If electric VTOL craft become cheaper, they'll displace the helicopters. But this is not a significant change in anybody's lifestyle. If it becomes cheaper it will be accessible to more people, but it will continue to be expensive. Normal folks will still take the train or bus to and from O'Hare. Slightly richer will take taxis. Very rich can take a helicopter, and soon an eVTOL.
Or maybe these things won't be able to fly as high, or as far, or as fast, or lift as much, and will remain a really fun toy for rich hobbyists.
Or maybe these things won't be able to fly as high, or as far, or as fast, or lift as much, and will remain a really fun toy for rich hobbyists.
JRP3
Hyperactive Member
Lower emissions, possibly lower noise, multiple motors/rotors so redundancy and safety, also probably easier to fly.
None of which will matter to travelers, unless these things lower the cost. And I don't believe that cost reduction will be very much. I don't believe they will be able to run such a service for $150 per person, one way. I could be wrong. Maybe this eVTOL will cost 1/4 as much as a helicopter. But that would surprise me. My Model 3 is the best car I've ever owned. It also cost three or four times as much as my Honda Civic did. Batteries are still a significant cost, and will be so for the eVTOL also.
United Airlines may decide to run this operation at a loss, as a gimmick. It will still be a service for the elite who can afford it and will be too expensive for the great majority.
JRP3
Hyperactive Member
So would a BMW 3 series ICE. Different market segments shouldn't be compared. Nor should old vehicles be compared to new, the cheapest new Civic starts at $25K, hardly 1/3 to 1/4 the price of a new Model 3.
RichAZ/CapeCod
Member
When I was a child I used to fly helicopters over Manhattan and the other NYC boros all the time. We were generally given an altitude by either Kennedy or La Guardia if in controlled airspace (varies widely with location). Generally 500' was a minimum, although that might well vary with weather. Once had to fly all the way down Flatbush Ave in Brooklyn (long wide street) heading to Floyd Bennett Field at a few hundred feet altitude as the clouds/fog obscured the buildings above around the sixth floor. Whoopee...
Very young, handsome, viral, NYPD pilot on the flight line. Late Fall 1989.
Fair enough. But I believe there's still a premium for electric because of the cost of the batteries. And for an aircraft there's also a weight penalty. They're implying that eVTOLs will revolutionize airport-to-city transportation, but the only real difference for the traveler, compared to what's available now, is the cost. And I'm not convinced that an eVTOL will be able to operate more cheaply than a helicopter. Certainly not cheaply enough for travelers who would have taken a bus or taxi to be able to fly.
Buckminster
Well-Known Member
JRP3
Hyperactive Member
RichAZ/CapeCod
Member
Operating a turbine ("jet") powered aircraft is very pricey. The engines themselves cost "a lot of money." The Bell 206B (JetRanger), a nominal five (four with full fuel) helicopter burns around 28 gallons of fuel per hour. That's around $5 to $7 bucks a gallon. The engines have to be built with incredible tolerances. One of the stages in the JetRanger Allison engine turned at (from memory) 58,000 rpm.
No question that an electrically powered rotary-wing craft would cost lots less to run and maintain. Just need batteries which hold lots of energy!!
Rich
The ticket price that passengers pay. They won't care whether they fly in a helicopter or an eVTOL. They'll just care what it cost them to skip the traffic.
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