Oy vey…
Adam
Very interesting. I think the more prototyping, and aviation industry exposure the E- planes get the better. Sun Flyers is a company in Denver CO with by year end 2021, (FAA part 23 approved) two very capable E-Flyers available for aviation consumer use/ production. Sunflyer2 (2seater) $249,000/ range: 3 1/2 hr use (30 min reserve) cruise speed: 110-125 kts. Sunflyer4 (4seater) $349,000/ range: 4hr use (30-1hr reserve) cruise speed: 130-145kts.
Cost per hour: get this… $1hrly
Cycleable charges: 1,500-2,000 at 80% battery efficiency still. Meaning that it will lastly roughly as long or longer than an engine replacement at 250K of cessna 172.
How long does it take to charge?
Quick charge: 20 minutes and we are off flying again!!
One of the reasons I want to become a pilot is to own/ fly one of these. Looks like so much fun and cost efficient.
I had been doing quite a bit of research since Owning a few high performance electric powered RC cars which have dominated gas powered RC cars to date. Thank you for sharing the article and hope that the founders sea plane eventual E- fleet will spark intrigue and endeavor in continued electric plane R&D.
I can see how the bigger airliner planes energy to power wise will be a bit trickier to convert to electric.