Gesamt
← Back to Squawk list
Norway’s first battery-powered plane crashed into a lake
Norway's first battery-powered airplane crashed into a lake yesterday, Reuters reports. While no one was harmed in the crash, the incident could be a set back for the country, which hopes to electrify all domestic flights by 2040. It's still unclear why the electric plane, an Alpha Electro G2, lost engine power, forcing the pilot to crash-land on his way back to the airport. The plane is owned by Avinor, Norway's state-run airport operator, and it was being flown by chief… (www.engadget.com) Mehr...Sort type: [Top] [Newest]
The writer sure seems to have a bias against electricity..
Were any swimmers or fish electrocuted? ;-)
The problem with electric aircraft (and I'm not saying it's going to prevent their success) is that they weigh the same at takeoff, at altitude, and when they land. The stored electricity in the battery doesn't weigh anything (no nit-picking physicists chiming in, please) unlike a conventional aircraft that uses up its fuel and gets lighter throughout the flight. IIRC, a transatlantic flight uses about half of its fuel getting to its cruise altitude and the majority of the flight uses the rest (less reserves).
Not getting lighter during the flight will affect how much total "fuel" it requires, as well as the physical structure of the aircraft. Think how different conventional aircraft would be if they always had to land at their takeoff weight.
Again, I'm not saying that this is an insurmountable problem and that electric aircraft can never be practical, but I do think it will be a long time before they are as common as electric cars will become. The amount of liquid fuel carried by cars, buses, etc is nowhere near as high a percentage of its all-up weight compared with an airliner, so not losing weight during the journey just doesn't matter very much. With an airliner or cargo aircraft, it's very important. For general aviation, training aircraft, "news chopper 5", and other short-range flying, I think electric aircraft could be practical someday.
The problem with electric aircraft (and I'm not saying it's going to prevent their success) is that they weigh the same at takeoff, at altitude, and when they land. The stored electricity in the battery doesn't weigh anything (no nit-picking physicists chiming in, please) unlike a conventional aircraft that uses up its fuel and gets lighter throughout the flight. IIRC, a transatlantic flight uses about half of its fuel getting to its cruise altitude and the majority of the flight uses the rest (less reserves).
Not getting lighter during the flight will affect how much total "fuel" it requires, as well as the physical structure of the aircraft. Think how different conventional aircraft would be if they always had to land at their takeoff weight.
Again, I'm not saying that this is an insurmountable problem and that electric aircraft can never be practical, but I do think it will be a long time before they are as common as electric cars will become. The amount of liquid fuel carried by cars, buses, etc is nowhere near as high a percentage of its all-up weight compared with an airliner, so not losing weight during the journey just doesn't matter very much. With an airliner or cargo aircraft, it's very important. For general aviation, training aircraft, "news chopper 5", and other short-range flying, I think electric aircraft could be practical someday.
Those cheap HF batteries may not have been the most cost effective choice in the long run.
It was probably cloudy.
I like the boss was flying that plane.
I heard a long time ago the guy who invented the electrical device GFI called a demonstration and his young daughter was in a swimsuit and dropped a live working plugin radio into the bathtub with his daughter. The GFI worked.
There are videos where the guy who demonstrated a bulletproof vest. He did shoot himself and lived.
I heard a long time ago the guy who invented the electrical device GFI called a demonstration and his young daughter was in a swimsuit and dropped a live working plugin radio into the bathtub with his daughter. The GFI worked.
There are videos where the guy who demonstrated a bulletproof vest. He did shoot himself and lived.
Promoting electric driven aircraft appears to have some merit, but the proponents of this technological "advance" always fail to mention the environmental impact of producing, recycling, and the human exposure of these rare earth mineral devices that can be quite harmful, perhaps more than the carbon released by a fossil fuel engine. Norway's population is relatively small for its' s size (about 7 million) and is very oil rich. The amount of air traffic criss-crossing Norway is not what you see in more populated areas. I've flown into Stavanger, Bergen, and other cities in Norway and compared to other areas, the airports are generally not very busy and often empty. The gain from electric aircraft here may not be a good fit.