But wait........there's more/another...........
Ah, maximum ceiling is maybe 30m, watch out for those windmills...will be fun as a movie prop, but, realistically, seems like a non-starter despite the 8B in unfulfilled orders...
Don't overlook the fact that new players in aviation have a much smaller chance of success than new car manufacturers. Well, I hope things work out for them so i can look back at this comment and facepalm. More competition is always beneficial for us consumers.
Cosmic! I tell ya it's COSMIC! https://www.thomasnet.com/insights/cosmic-aerospace-electric-plane-with-real-range/?utm_content=featuredvideo&linktype=image&channel=email&campaign_type=thomas_industry_update&campaign_name=tiu230608&utm_campaign=tiu230608&utm_medium=email&utm_source=thomas_industry_update&tinid=221771109
"Cosmic Aerospace is busy building the Skylark, a fully electric aircraft that it says will match the range of many traditional airliners. The plane will have a range of more than 600 miles and will be able to" And just how is 600 miles "matching the range of many traditional jets"? 600 miles does not even get 3/4 of the way across Texas. These guys are delusional. And thinking of the flying business. As we all know planes only make money in flight. So we take off from El Paso to Palm Beach. What do we do? Fly to Austin, get a room for the night to recharge the batteries, Fly to Mobile, get a room and recharge then on to Palm Beach? 3 days? Hardly seems a viable plan. I can drive faster than that. Air travel was better in 1950 than that. At least a DC6 could go SFO-Hawaii. And a flying gasoline tanker is probably less likely to catch fire than a flying truckload of litium ion batteries.
Lots of routes are less than 600 miles. It could easily recharge in less time than it takes to unload/load. Bigger problem is going to be the FAA, they've been incredibly gunshy about certifying anything at all, and have flat out refused to do any sort of new tech. The AW609 has been trying to get certified for almost two decades now and doesn't appear to be very close.
NASA turns off the switch....... https://spaceexplored.com/2023/06/27/nasa-to-conclude-all-electric-x-57-maxwell-aircraft-program/#more-307584
Many have said same of the FDA in approving new drugs. Their feet dragging saved the US from Thalidomide. This may well save us from stupid electric planes. A solution for a non existent problem. When my Tesla self immolates I can pull over and get out. Just a little more complex in an airplane at cruise altitude.
Wisk Aero (Boeing-owned) eVTOL pilotless air taxi demonstrator https://www.flyingmag.com/wisk-aero-completes-groundbreaking-air-taxi-demonstration-at-oshkosh/ .
Archer secures $142m contract to deliver up to six ‘Midnight’ eVTOLs to USAF https://www.archer.com/News/u.s.-air-force-and-archer-enter-into-contracts-worth-up-to-142-million-representing-landmark-investment-in-evtol-technology-by-u.s-military Stealthy quiet, but limited range ...... for now. . Manufacturing partner Stellantis .
BAE Systems Australia - STRIX eVTOL drone https://breakingdefense.com/2023/11/aussie-bae-systems-new-vtol-long-range-drone-strix-passes-design-review-in-static-testing/ cool design. takes off / lands like a helicopter, and flies like a plane. without rotating motors/props TAKE OFF at 1:00 ....... LANDING at 2:18 .
Joby Aviation EV Air Taxi Achieves First Flight in NYC https://www.autoweek.com/news/a45834462/joby-aviation-evtol-air-taxi-nyc/ . Take-off at 0:01 >>> Landing at 2:45 . Engineering .
We might not like it but if as a society we are going towards electric no matter what then we definitely need some new battery tech.
And we need to dot the countryside with Nuke power plants. Not doing that anytime soon either. That word "If" in your post is the key word. Despite some very technology illiterate politicians we are a very long way from being capable of it if we ever will be.
I know the sustainibility marketing craze is something that is used to shift the blame to us. But why underestimate new tech? I have a few friends and acquaintances that use Lifepo4 batteries thoroughly in their projects, plenty of those are drones, FS and efficiency challenge cars. They are a bit less harmful to produce than traditional li-ion batteries and also can be recycled more easily. If they don't have the fate of nuclear power they can fuel (or at least be a storage medium LOL) this craze as they get cheaper over time. Who knows maybe there is a big breakthrough happening in a lab somewhere as i'm typing this that will allow that.
https://www.geekwire.com/2025/eviation-lays-off-employees-and-pauses-development-of-electric-powered-airplane/ Pulling the plug ?
Always said this was a bad idea, until they come up with a better battery that weighs 1/10th the current one. You take off and land with all the fuel/battery weight still. Start bumping pax and cargo now and you are going to have a HUGE landing weight with all those batteries.
