What's up with electric aviation?
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CEO Kyle Clark of BETA Technologies walks us through the details of how to design, build, and operate electric planes — first for relatively short light-cargo flights, but eventually, he says, for all of aviation. I loved this conversation so much.

Electric vehicles that can take off and land vertically, but then fly like a plane, are already being sold and used by hospitals and shipping companies. These vehicles have 5 batteries that give it a range of over 350 miles using current battery technology, though the batteries are intended to be swapped over the life of the aircraft, much like the engine of a traditional aircraft, however, future batteries could feature improvements, meaning the vehicle gets better over time. The redundancy that Electric motors allow more easily than mechanical motors means this aircraft is far safer than anything else in the air.

  • ramble81@lemm.ee
    5·
    6 days ago

    Posted this in another chat…

    I’ve always been curious how electric planes will address MLW as they scale up. Even if you get similar energy densities and can cover MTOW, you generally count on reducing weight as you use up fuel and are lighter when you land. But with a battery your weight is going to be roughly the same. Will that mean you have to take into account the increased weight and will have less room for cargo/passengers?

      • ramble81@lemm.ee
        7·
        6 days ago

        Maximum Landing Weight and Maximum Takeoff Weight. Because of the stress put on the airframe when landing you don’t want a heavy plane. It’s easier to control when taking off because it’s smoother. So having the same weight on landing means the airframe will need to be beefed up, or you fly with less overall since more goes to the plane.