Electric planes

[Electroman]

"floatplanes" ?

 

[Brando]

"floatplanes" ?

planes with floats - they land & take off on water

 

[Electroman]

Thank you. I have seen those on TV and youtube videos. Also saw them on Vancouver harbor heading out on a cruise. Always looks scary

 

[daniel]

Thank you. I have seen those on TV and youtube videos. Also saw them on Vancouver harbor heading out on a cruise. Always looks scary

They're really fun! The ones I've been on are tiny one-engine piston-propeller planes because turbine engines are too expensive. 8 or 10 passenger seats IIRC. There are places that would be inaccessible otherwise.

 

[JRP3]

Wing effect hydrofoil float plane ferry

REGENT | Coastal Travel. 100% Electric.

We develop & manufacture all-electric, passenger-carrying, wing-in-ground-effect vehicles to service coastal routes, building on real-world-proven tech.

www.regentcraft.com

 

[daniel]

Wing effect hydrofoil float plane ferry

REGENT | Coastal Travel. 100% Electric.

We develop & manufacture all-electric, passenger-carrying, wing-in-ground-effect vehicles to service coastal routes, building on real-world-proven tech.

www.regentcraft.com

Stupid program posted this before I got a chance to write...

They say it's set to begin operating in 2025. IOW, it doesn't exist yet but they're promising it will exist "real soon now." It looks pretty cool, but flying that close to the surface seems like it could be very dangerous. Yes, I'd ride in it because it's electric, but I'd bet 10:1 it won't ever become a reality.

 

[JRP3]

flying that close to the surface seems like it could be very dangerous.

I'd think the opposite. A "crash" just turns it into a boat.

 

[daniel]

I'd think the opposite. A "crash" just turns it into a boat.

If it lost power it would settle down and become a boat. But if it lost control it could nose-dive. And in stormy conditions, I wonder what a rogue wave would do to it. Even just moderately large waves would make an uneven surface, and flying that low the ground effect would fluctuate rapidly as it flew over the waves. It could be a very rough ride and even make control difficult. Flying that low requires great skill, as any crop-duster can attest.

More relevant, though, is that this is an announcement of something the company is promising will exist in four years from now. Relatively few such announcements ever pan out. It looks more like a concept they want to drum up support for than a mature product.

Note also that a low-flying water-foil float-plane would be just as easy to build with conventional engines as with electric motors. Easier, because with conventional engines it would be much lighter. Using electric motors does not suddenly open the possibilities for this kind of plane. Why doesn't a craft like this exist already if it's such a great idea? Probably because, regardless of fuel source, it's not a good idea at all. What about collisions with boats? And if it can fly, why stay low to the water at all? Floatplanes are a thing and widely operated now. Other than being electric, this offers nothing new.

I call bogus. It will never be a thing.

 

[JRP3]

Will be watching 2 unveiling tonight. Archer (ACIC) also unveiling their eVTOL. And Plaid. Let's see which stock will be a bigger hit tomorrow

Archer Announces Unveiling of eVTOL Aircraft

Urban Air Mobility leader will reveal its electric aircraft at event in Los Angeles and via livestream on June 10th at 6pm PTJune 10th marks the debut of Archer’s inaugural, all-electric aircraft, capable of a 60 mile range at 150mph In addition to a COVID-19 safe event, the aircraft unveil will...

finance.yahoo.com

Archer

Midnight was chosen by Usher as a symbol of the future to align with his departure from Las Vegas and release of “coming home”

www.archer.com

 

[JRP3]

Interesting claim of 4.4V max for cell voltages Technologies — Archer

 

[JRP3]

 

[mltv]

Archer unveiling

 

[mltv]

Other eVTOL Joby Aviation | Joby

 

[mltv]

Ha they mentioned Plaid

 

[JRP3]

I give bonus points for starting on time

 

[JRP3]

And downhill from the start. So far no demo of the rotors even turning let alone the vehicle flying. I'm done.

 

[mltv]

disappointing

 

[daniel]

Call me when I can buy one. (I probably won't, but until I can, it's vaporware.)

 

[JRP3]

From the investor thread:

Chicago Tribune - hour ago: United Airlines plans to buy 100 small electric planes for regional flights

Excerpt:

United Airlines and one of its regional carriers each plan to buy up to 100 small electric planes that could be used on short-haul United flights.
The 19-seat planes could be used to fly passengers up to 250 miles by the end of the decade, United said Tuesday morning.

United’s venture fund and its partner Mesa Airlines will be investing in the company developing the plane, Sweden’s Heart Aerospace. Both airlines agreed to purchase 100 of the planes if they meet United’s specifications once developed.
“We expect the short-haul regional air travel market to play a key role in the evolution of the electric aircraft. As battery technology improves, larger-gauge aircraft should become viable but we’re not going to wait to begin the journey,” Michael Leskinen, United’s Vice President Corp Development and Investor Relations, said in a news release.

 

[Etna]

From the investor thread:

According to calculations based on a fairly accurate analytical model of this aircraft, it is not capable of doing even a quarter of the claimed range, likely a lot less, with proper energy reserves for scheduled operations.

In other words, its real range makes it commercially non-viable.

There are also a few glaringly obvious (to me anyway) design flaws, such as ground tip-over at the first turn off the runway because of the high center of gravity (batteries are high up in the nacelles) and too narrow landing gear track.

Still, there are some aspects of the design that are right and at least it should be able to fly more or less normally, just not very far. It is not the worst offender in the aviation startup marketplace.