Aviation fuels Peter, and that was tongue in cheek about TG… :)
I don’t know what is happening on the electric car scene in the UK, but I’ll agree that it’s not moving alog so rapidly here in Sweden. I was astounded by the figures in Norway. You need to take in account that they tax the hell out of any car, but probably have some incentive for environmentally friendly alternatives. Still, the Tesla is a 100kUSD automobile so whoever is buying it must be well off.
Aviation fuels Peter.
Come on, Krister, the quantities of Avgas used worldwide are totally negligible compared to Jet-A, let alone car fuel.
On a different note, I’m not so sure I would want to fly a SEP run on Li-Ion batteries.
Wether we like it or not, for the time being – i.e. until there is a real breakthrough in battery technology – fossil fuels are the best solution to power airplanes.
In any case, what always amuses me about the electric-whatever brigade is that they totally ignore the source of this wonderful electricity. Where is it going to come from? The power outlet in your garage? And now please don’t say wind farms….
What the greenies completely ignore is, that if you really want to switch our society to electric power for locomotion, you’ll need to strike a Faustian pact and build nuclear power plants. Lots of them. I can already hear the howls….
What the greenies completely ignore is, that if you really want to switch our society to electric power for locomotion, you’ll need to strike a Faustian pact and build nuclear power plants. Lots of them. I can already hear the howls….
If there was a “Like” button I would click it…
AVGAS and atmospheric pollution: In Germany 0,3% of all fossil fuels are used in GA. In total TWICE as much fuel is burned in LAWN MOWERS than in aircraft.
Futher questions? :-)
My comments to Peter were based on his earlier post #209. I was merely suggesting that the NASA reference may have been for aviation fuels, not lead pollution overall. Of aviation fuels, 100LL is the greatest contributor to lead pollution (in the US at least).
On a global scale it is a drop in the ocean. Regardless, 100LL will disappear for other reasons.
I may be stupid, but I’m not that stupid.
In total TWICE as much fuel is burned in LAWN MOWERS than in aircraft.
Yeah, and these lawn mowers wouldn’t run on two-stroke engines, would they? Really clean stuff…….
@Krister: nobody’s accusing you of being stupid. The fact is, that lead pollution from Avgas is a minute and negligible amount, no matter how you slice and dice the argument.
Yes, Krister, nobody really said you are stupid!
But isn’t it an impressive figure, only 0.3% of all engine fuels used in GA aircraft?
Yes, absolutely.
no matter how you slice and dice the argument
Ok, this is turning out to be a pissing contest. Let’s drop the reference altogether and look at what the NASA proposal is saying for efficiency improvements. With the kind of efficiency gains they see in the computations, it would be possible to reduce the number of bananas required to run a future GA aircraft by a factor equalling a 10x reduction in operating cost. That is very interesting, and is exactly what Synergy are working on. Whether they will succeed or not is another question, the calculations could be flawed for all I know, and I wish I had the capacity to make that judgement.
With the above information at hand, perhaps Pipistrel actually have managed to squeeze out another 40 knots from a Mooneyesque design, in which case the question of resurrecting the old technology is a valid point, in my view.
In the very least we’ll be able to say “I told you so” after they fail, or “Yes, I knew they could do it” if they succeed… :)
Might I suggest that a more productive line of speculation might be why somebody is willing to invest in Mooney and restart production – after Cirrus has eaten everybody’s lunch in the last 10 years and after even Cirrus is heading downwards. Cessna has seemingly totally failed with the C400 (notwithstanding alleged/reported production difficulties in Mexico) which is clearly aimed at the very top end of the SEP market (where some believe Mooney might try to come back) and there are no other players in this area (IFR pistons) selling anything in any volume.
