Much as I would like to get into electric planes, even if they have such a horrific Diamond tail 
, just looking at one of the claims they make does not give me a lot of confidence in the other data. 50 pence of electricity… How much is the cost of 1kWh in the UK? Let me just guess it to be 20 pence. So that means a full charge is 2.5kWh, and that gives 40 minutes of flight time, so the average power consumption is 3.75 kW. Is the whole contraption filled with Helium maybe and does it just chug along at 10 knots? Or is the cost of one kWh in China maybe 2 pence?
Or is the cost of one kWh in China maybe 2 pence?
About 5 pence per kWh, at least in 2011.
Technology Agency of the Czech Republic just announced its annual awards for best applied research. One of the laureates this year is Evektor with EPOS, an electric propulsion project for light aircraft. Evektor’s own SportStar production two-seat airframe with a newly developed 100 hp electric motor can cruise at 86 kts for about an hour. The development took three years and used a state grant of 11.5 million Czech crowns (414,000 EUR at the current exchange rate).
Very nice, thanks for posting. Should not be long and they’d get 2 hours of endurance. At 85 knots that would be great for local bimbling. I am curious to know how silent it is, both inside and outside. What is the relative contribution of the prop to the overall sound level?
Cool. My next project is obviously an electric aircraft. There are already a few kits available, but no one with 100 HP and 2 hours, more like 20 HP.
I think the 2015 AERO Friedrichshafen might become interesting. It started a few years ago with these totally crappy Chinese blown up model planes (YUNEC or something like it) where the power levers were so badly built that I wouldn’t even use it on a go-cart. Their test pilot died in one of the aircraft but after the first initial hype, now more serious contenders seem to surface. The Czech are absolutely at the forefront of efficient and modern recreational aircraft so I have high hopes.
I’m not going to build one but I think I will buy the first good electric aircraft. Done the same with cars and it was the best thing I ever spent money on. I think an electric airplane will be fantastic.
I think much more than 2hrs is needed, unless you just go after the training scene (which may be the unstated strategy; alter all, let’s face it, the diesel retrofits have been priced thus).
I know most people do short trips, but GA hardly makes sense in terms of value for money, so there is a big aspirational element which keeps people sticking with it.
For example if you analysed how often you fly with 3 or more people, you would probably not buy a 4-seater. Similarly, if a traditional market research character did market research on GA, almost nobody would ever make 4-seaters. And that kind of “market research” was behind the most spectacular marketing failures in technology
And the aspirational factor does include going to places a bit further away than 2hrs – especially by the time you consider the low speed of electric planes. In practically all mainland-European cases you can drive the range of such a plane quicker in your car. The southern UK to N France (or Isle of Wight) burger run is different (impractical other than by GA) but that’s a small market which I am sure the Czechs won’t be bothered with. Especially as the demography of that pilot population is mostly very low budget, flying traditional types bought for £15k or so.
To finish it off, there are unlikely to be charging points where you are going, so you have to get there and back.
For weather you want a 100nm reserve and that is the final nail in the coffin.
So I think the Czechs are either stupid (possible but unlikely; they might sometimes be crafty – and note I am Czech myself – but they are rarely stupid) or they are covertly aiming at the flight training market.
And nobody is going to openly state they are aiming at the training market because that undermines their “serious” credibility. It is like that in all of technology… the description “aimed at the educational market” immediately conveys an image of a cheap and nasty product, and usually it is.
Peter,
I think the bet is that battery technology will vastly improve over the coming years, in particular as all the large car companies are pouring billions into it. Only a few years ago, electric cars were silly little plastic thingies, you wouldn’t want to be seen in, or bet your family’s life on. The only thing to be seen in these days is a Tesla, and they’re suppose to be a great drive as well. I’m sure other companies will soon follow with something a little more appealing than the BMW slapsided shopping trolley
What is the relative contribution of the prop to the overall sound level?
Isn’t slow running props more efficient? I think that’s part of the argument for geared engines, and someone can probably tell me what they normally run at, but I seem to recall that it is less than the regular 2500. If you can keep the prop at 2000-2200, I would think that an electric plane is fairly quiet.
I think much more than 2hrs is needed, unless you just go after the training scene (which may be the unstated strategy; alter all, let’s face it, the diesel retrofits have been priced thus).
This is a stated strategy – they say they want to make an aircraft appealing to individual owners and schools alike. 2 hours at 85 knots would even marginally cover the 150 NM cross-country flight for a PPL. Also, let’s keep in mind it’s an ultralight, with its target market thus indeed being the local bimblers.
We do a lot of business with Tesla and we usually have one at the office for product testing. They are indeed a beautiful drive. However the 250 mile range requires a lot of heavy technology. Batteries, drive electronics, and motor(s).
Tesla and their founder are investing in an enormous way in a battery plant. I think the battery plant may be a bigger business than Tesla as the market takes off
Electric aircraft are coming
