Electric cars have revolutionized driving in recent years. Pollution is a growing concern across the globe and electric cars have helped in reducing the amount of carbon left into the atmosphere. NASA is taking this a step further. NASA is currently working on the first electric airplane, the X-57 Maxwell. The X-57 Maxwell is similar to the twin-engine Italian aircraft such as the Tecnam P2006T.
The first model, the MOD I, had the usual combustion engines switched with electric motors. NASA underwent four rounds of modifications since then to get to a fully functioning electric aircraft, the X-57 Maxwell. The MOD I, II, III, and IV all had different modifications to bring them to where they are now. In MOD III and IV, engineers are still working to perfect the models to put it in full effect.
Jet fuel accounts for a major amount of greenhouse gases being eliminated. If accomplished, this can revolutionize air transportation and eliminate a lot of the carbon being released into the atmosphere. http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/d-brief/2019/10/09/nasa-is-building-its-first-electric-airplane/#.XbY4R5NKjOQ
It’s a great idea to develop electric aircraft. However, I’m worried about whether it is practical. As we known that there are electrical cars exist. The electrical cars are not only expansive but also have a hard request to the charging site. Since it’s still not very common, the drivers have to go to a certain place to charge the car battery or stall an expansive charging site. Another key disadvantage of this electrical is the lack of power and a relatively low travel distance. We can say that for the electric aircraft the charging sites can be set in certain airports. However, the low distance and the lack of power will also be an issue for the airplane. That means if the airplane comes into use, it can only travel in a short distance but also needs to stall a charging station for the airport which is not practical and efficient. Also, the electric batteries may be very heavy that may affect the flying situation of the airplane. There are still many things to worry about the electric aircraft, but I’m still looking forward to it and hope one day I can experience it.
https://autowise.com/top-7-disadvantages-of-electric-cars/
I had never thought about electric airplanes before reading this article. The increasing greenhouse gas emission has become people’s concern. Unlike cars, there are no rules limiting the greenhouse gas emission for aircrafts and airline companies. The aviation industry accounts for about 2% of such emission every day. Also, there will be more passengers flying in the future so that the emission would increase. As a result, developing the electric airplanes could help reduce the harmful gas emissions by airplanes.
One huge problem of developing the electric airplanes is about its battery life. Current technology is too inefficient for electric storage and we need large batteries to store a large amount of electricity. This makes long-distance flight difficult for electric airplanes. Developing the electric airplane could help the environment, but there are still some technical problems to be solved.
source:https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/energy/why-electric-powered-airplanes-are-headed-for-takeoff/2019/10/30/c9ae91d8-fb04-11e9-9e02-1d45cb3dfa8f_story.html
Electric traffic is clean and quiet and seems to be the mainstream of the future, however, not all modes of transportation are easy to electrify, and aviation is one of the most difficult. Power density is far less than fuel: fossil fuels emit about 100 times more energy than lithium-ion batteries at the same weight. So there is one biggest problem with battery-powered airplanes: battery weight. In terms of the voyage of the aircraft, how large is it necessary to install a large generator? Therefore, with the current battery technology, it is impossible to manufacture an all-electric aircraft, but battery technology still has a lot of room for development, so wait and see.
Your blog on electronic airplane is really interesting and attractive.
At first, it seems impossible to use the electronic to fly.Like he says”First look, it looked impossible. Electric aviation has seemed impossible forever. But then you dig in, and you realize, not only is it possible, but it makes great business sense, and it’s probably one of the most important things that you could be doing in aviation today.” Electronic airplane looks having a broader market.
I think besides the energy saving, cost effective, electronic airplane can also add the safety index of taking the airplane. Also, if airplanes do not need a lot of energy, the cost of the tickets would also drop which means that people have more choices to go to wherever they want in an affordable price.
However, about the consuming of the electronic. Although they are cost effective, airplanes still need a large amount of that, so they have to develop more powerful battery that can support the long term journey. It will be a long way to go as well.
https://grist.org/article/the-first-generation-of-electric-airplanes-is-almost-here/
I found this article very interesting because I was not aware that anyone was pursuing the creation of an electronic aircraft. Although the task seems daunting, there has been exceptional growth of the technology in the auto industry that could potentially make this a reality. As lithium batteries become cheaper and cheaper, they will be able to be placed inside these aircrafts to power them in different ways. I can only assume if electric airplanes become a reality, they will follow a similar progression as electric cars. In other words, the first models will be very expensive and have minor bugs associated with them. However, companies will race to compete with the existing technology and find different ways to make the technology more efficient and cheaper. Given the large amount of problems associated with the current aviation industry (pollution, noise, price of oil, disruption), it does not seem unlikely to see widespread use of electric planes in the next 20 years or so.
Source: https://grist.org/article/the-first-generation-of-electric-airplanes-is-almost-here/
Your post gave a very interesting insight into an intriguing topic. I feel that regardless of saving up energy on the carbon emissions by using electric aeroplanes, it become inevitable to avoid the fact that using batteries of such massive sizes would not be so helpful in subsidizing the carbon emissions effect and rather create a challenge to make such electric batteries.
Therefore, the challenge is creating such electric aeroplanes but the bigger challenge is being able to monitor the security as well as environmental hazards of this innovative yet challenging idea of electric aeroplanes.
Source: https://www.airspacemag.com/flight-today/the-electric-airplane-34986164/
To begin with, I would like to say that electric vehicles do benefit environmental protection. However, it also brings about many inconveniences. For instance, there is even no place for charging in some rural areas. On the other hand, security is another problem. If the vehicle is out of power on the road, it will be quite dangerous. In addition, electric vehicles have not been widely spread currently, used by only a small part of people. The popularity of electric vehicles is so limited, not to say electric planes.
I forgot to add the source,
https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/electric-aircraft/index.html
As a concern of global climate change is increasing worldwide, transportation is mentioned as one of the biggest factors of greenhouse gas emissions. Among other transportations, aircraft fuel accounts for 12 percent of total emissions in US, and even worse, the use of airplane has been sharply increased recently. At this point, talking about alternatives such as electric airplane is necessary. In addition to X-57 Maxwell mentioned above, there are several other electric airplanes that had been tested. Vahana which is designed to move a passenger or small cargo only within city is also an electrical aircraft. Its technology enables it to avoid obstacles and navigate the complex urban environment, moving well between buildings. Seattle-based startup Zunum Aero invented hybrid-electric airplane which flies quietly and economically under local airfields. Design of it would be changed to electrical propulsion (not hybrid) when new battery technology becomes available. The Alpha Electro which is powered by electric engine, can recharges its batteries as the same way as our mobile phone. I’m sure that by extending and ensuring these technologies, we can get closer to solving the climate problem which is the worldwide issue.
https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2019/08/aviation-electric-planes-climate-change/
As far as I know the development of Electric plane has started a few years ago.
Back on 2016, Siemens and Airbus signed an agreement to further demonstrate their commitment to the development of electric aircraft. The two companies will work together to strive to demonstrate the technology of various hybrid/electric propulsion systems as much as possible in 2020.
In the end, some companies hope to develop a variety of prototypes, including small passenger aircraft of 100 seats and below, helicopters and helicopters, mainly for short- and medium-haul flights.Electric planes will not appear from them, and they will occupy the entire aviation market overnight. If Siemens really makes real progress in the field of aerodynamic engines because of this novel technology, GE and Pratt & Whitney will inevitably follow up quickly, and the increasingly fierce competition may really stimulate the progress of the entire aerodynamic engine industry.
In short, electric flight will be a long-term story, and its success may require more technological advancement.
Now, global warming has became one of the biggest concern in the world. Icebergs in north pole start to melt. And the sea level start to rise as iceberg melting. As we all know, carbon dioxide has made a great contribution into the global warming. And vehicles powered by fuel is one of the biggest carbon dioxide producing source. Many people and companies notice the problem and they start developing electric vehicles in order to eliminate the production of carbon dioxide from vehicle powered by fuel and thus slow down the process of global warming. Companies like Tesla successfully develop cars powered by electricity. And the public is now familiar with electric cars. However, it’s still astonishing to hear the invention of electric airplanes. I think the invention of electric airplanes can lead us to the next era of electric transportation. Efficiency of the transportation will be greatly boosted. Costs of transportation will be greatly reduced. However, new problems related to safety will arise too. Here is an article talking about the first generation of electric airplanes:
https://grist.org/article/the-first-generation-of-electric-airplanes-is-almost-here/
Indeed, electric cars and airplanes are one of the best of saving energy, with the reduction of using fuel, the greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide will be less in the atmosphere. However, with the invention of electric airplanes, more problem need to be solved before the popularization of it. As we all know, with electric car, the endurance of the battery is the biggest concern. Since the airplane is believed that it needs a lot of more energy for a airplane than a car need, so the requirement of battery will be a big concern that need to be solved for electric airplane, it can be used in short flight, but not a long distance journey.
The attached website introduced some electric airplane:
https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/electric-aircraft/index.html