Wright Electric Planning Short Haul Electric Airplane Within Ten Years

Wright Electric, a start-up supported by Y Combinator, says it is working on building an electric airplane that can fly 150 passengers up to 300 miles. Its goal is to have the airplanes in the air within 10 years. It has already attracted interest from an established airline. EasyJet, a low cost British air travel company tells the BBC it “has had discussions with Wright Electric and is actively providing an airline operator’s perspective on the development of this exciting technology.”

An electric airplane has several advantages over traditional aircraft. First and foremost, it doesn’t spew carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere while in flight. Second, it will be quieter than a conventional airplane. But we know in the era of Trumponmics that the only consideration is cost — the environment be damned. And that’s where the Wright Electric proposal really shines. The cost of electricity should be significantly less than the cost of jet fuel. That would allow the price of plane tickets to drop substantially.

With a range of 300 miles, the Wright Electric airplane would be capable of serving 30% of all commercial airline routes in the world. But where will it get the power to stay aloft and how long will it take to recharge the batteries after each flight? That part’s easy. The company says the batteries will be fitted to conventional airline shipping containers. They will be charged on the ground and simply swapped in and out as needed.

“The way we’ve designed our plane is to have modular battery packs for quick swap using the same cargo container that’s in a regular airplane,” says Jeff Engler, co-founder of Wright Electric. “We want it to be as fast as possible, so airlines can keep their planes in the air as long as possible and cover their costs.”

Some of this is wishful thinking at this point. It all depends on battery technology continuing to improve at its current rate. There are no batteries today that are small enough and powerful enough to keep such an electric airplane in the air long enough to be commercially viable. But Wright Electric is going ahead with the design of the aircraft while it waits for new developments to provide the batteries it will need. The company is working with Chip Yates, the American inventor who currently holds the record for the world’s fastest electric airplane.

Other companies are exploring electric aircraft including Airbus. Siemens is testing a new electric motor that is lighter and 5 times more powerful than normal. Is the era of electric flight upon us? Not quite yet, but it is coming. The electric airplane isn’t a reality yet, but the technology to make it happen is ready to go. All that remains is for battery technology to catch up. John Goodenough may have something to do with when that happens.

Source: BBC

Electric airplane sets ascent record with Siemens drive system

An electric-drive Extra 330LE aerobatics plane recently set a world record in ascent in the category of “Electric aircraft weighing up to 1,000 kilograms. The pilot reached an altitude of 3,000 meters in only four minutes and 22 seconds, beating the previous record by one minute and 10 seconds. The airplane rose into the air at 11.5 meters per second.

The plane is equipped with a SP260D electric drive system from Siemens that has a continuous power output of 260 kW, continuous torque of 1,000 N·m, weighs only 50 kg, and thus offers an excellent power-to-weight ratio. Pilot Walter Extra broke the previous record set by the American pilot William M. Yates in 2013. The World Air Sports Federation—Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI)—recognized the record-breaking flight.

This is a milestone on the path to electrification in aviation. This enormous achievement was possible only with digital technologies that enabled us to push our drive train to its technological limits.

—Frank Anton, who heads eAircraft within Siemens’ next4 startup unit

The Extra 330LE, which weights approximately 1,000 kilograms, serves as a test vehicle for the new drive. Its first public flight was in July 2016. For Siemens AG eAircraft, this record is proof of the performance of the SP260D drive system and its efficient integration into the airplane built by Extra Aircraft OEM.

The Extra 330LE two-seater will be the test aircraft for the coming years, when the goal will be to analyze and further develop how the individual components of its propulsion system work together. Siemens will also bring the technology to its electric flight collaboration agreement with Airbus, which the two companies signed in April 2016. 

They want to prove the technical feasibility of hybrid electric drive systems for regional aircraft with up to 100 passengers by 2020. This will require power ratings of up to 10 MW.

The two partners plan to develop hybrid electric regional aircraft on the basis of the record-breaking motor.

We expect to see the first aircraft with up to 100 passengers and a range of approximately 1,000 kilometers by 2030

—Frank Anton

Airbus Makes A 3D Printed Electric Motorcycle

AP Works is a division of Airbus. Last week, it unveiled the Light Rider, an all electric motorcycle that uses a 3D printed aluminum frame. The finished bike weighs a feather light 77 pounds. The frame is one third lighter than a normal e-bike. According CEO Joachim Zettler, conventional production techniques such as milling or welding could not be use to build such a complex structure of branched, hollow tubes.

Actually, saying the frame is aluminum is a bit misleading. APWorks calls the material it uses “Scalmalloy,” a custom aluminum alloy powder “with almost the specific strength of titanium.” When used in a 3D printer, it is capable of making structures that are incredibly strong but super light in weight by fusing thin layers of material together.

The Light Rider is no TT Zero racer or Pikes Peak contender. It has a top speed of only 50 mph and accelerates to 30 miles per hour in just a touch more than 3 seconds. The battery can be easily removed for recharging or swapped out when depleted. It has a range of 35 miles. The light weight means it could actually be carried on a normal bicycle rack or taken upstairs in an elevator without much exertion.

Price will be an issue for most people, though. APWorks will make only 50 of the Light Rider machines and is selling them for $56,000 a copy. That’s a fairly expensive solution to the “last mile” conundrum. But just as prices of personal computers and LED televisions plummeted after they went into mass production, the Light Rider is merely a way point on the journey to low cost all electric transportation.

Right now, these e-bikes are mostly an advertisement for APWorks and its 3D printing technology. It won’t be long before these sorts of innovations begin trickling down to mainstream manufacturing.

Source: The Verge  Photo credit: AP Works

Airbus E-FAN Airplane Makes Its First Flight - VIDEO

The Airbus E-FAN electric plane made its first flight last month, and though it didn’t go far, it’s a big step towards emissions-free flying. Even better, Airbus eventually wants to produce and market a line of electric and hybrid aircraft under the VoltAir brand, meaning a future of electric flying could be closer than we think.

This first manned flight is a follow-up to last year’s demonstrator test, and the E-FAN first flew on March 11th thanks to lithium-polymer batteries that provide between 45 minutes and an hour of flight time, along with a top speed of 220 KPH, or about 136 MPH. Airbus imagines the E-FAN being used for training missions or stunt flying, where range isn’t as much of a concern. Future battery packs could provide additional range for planned production models.

One of the big draws of electric flight is cost, and Airbus claims a typical flight will only cost about $16, whereas a comparable gas-powered plane would suck down $55 worth of fuel. The E-FAN uses a complex energy management system to conserve power, and clever tricks like a wheel-mounted aft motor to provide movement while taxiing saves the juice for flying. Recharging is said to take only an hour as well, so you don’t have to stay grounded for long.

Though this isn’t the first electric airplane to take to the air, it could be the first one to enter mass production. Airbus is planning two models; the pure-electric E-FAN2.0 with room for two people, and the E-FAN 4.0, which can seat four people and uses a hybrid drivetrain rather than just electricity. These planes could lower the cost of entry to aviation, at least as far as fuel is concerned, and one day small electric or hybrid Airbus aircraft could become the standard commuter plane for frequent flyers.

One advantage of electric aircraft even the most ardent defender of the status quo will have to concede is that electrified aircraft will be many times quieter than their combustion-powered cousins, and airports could become a whole lot quieter in the not-too-distant future.

Source: Gizmag