Benefits of Electric Airplanes
Environmentally Friendly:
Simpler:
Performance:
Costs:
Powered by a Star's Heart:
- Lack of CO2 emissions:
In the past 150 years, atmospheric carbon dioxide levels have risen an estimated 35 percent, and humans went from being earth-bound to sending 3 billion passengers into the air each year. The Age of Flight has had an extraordinary carbon footprint. Consider that when a single person flies round-trip from New York to London, that travel generates approximately the same greenhouse gas emissions as heating a residential home for a year.
The International Civil Aviation Organization estimates that by 2050, aircraft-generated emissions are going to triple in volume. Governments that recognize the dangers are responding to these skyrocketing greenhouse gases by increasing industry regulations. As of 2012, the European Union has implemented a carbon-trading program among airlines that creates a marketplace for trading or buying allowances for CO2 emissions. Last year, the International Air Transport Association adopted a resolution calling on more governments to do the same. - Noise:
Electric airplanes will be much quieter for passengers and people who live near airports, and their computer-controlled, electrically driven propellers will make for smoother, more comfortable flights.
Simpler:
- An advantage of electric motors is their relative simplicity in comparison to internal combustion engines. A typical brushless motor has only one moving part, the rotor, which is often attached directly to the propeller shaft. Even the simplest fuel-burning motors are infinitely more complex and require periodic detailed inspections and costly overhauls. The rudimentary nature of electric motors makes them easier (less expensive) to inspect and maintain, while also being intrinsically more reliable.
- The simplified nature of electric motors also suggests equally simplified operation for the pilot. There would be no need to worry about carburetor heat, mixture settings, altitude density, and the myriad other factors that affect the performance of an internal combustion engine.
- Another advantage to an electric aircraft is the relative compactness of electric motors, which can contribute to better aerodynamics. Electric motors can be made quite light and small and still develop considerable power with high reliability—they scale well.
Performance:
- Electric airplanes can perform better. They feature extremely short takeoff and landing (ESTOL), and can climb faster than the same models that rely on fuel.
- Unlike internal combustion engines, they don’t need air to produce power, so they can maintain their full rated punch even at high altitudes, where the air is thin.
- Compared to internal combustion engines, electric motors operate without vibrations. A substantial amount of the structure in general aviation aircraft is dedicated to absorbing the forces caused by having one or more internal combustion engines attached. Without the vibrations inherent in internal combustion engines, an electric aircraft can be built with a lighter and simpler airframe. When it comes to airplanes, lighter is almost always better.
Costs:
- Electric motors consume less energy.
- They cost less to operate and maintain, with fewer moving parts than fuel-powered aircraft engines.
- Internal combustion engine vibration is also one of the contributors to airframe fatigue. Without this driver present, it is plausible that electric-powered airframes could make use of simplified and/or less frequent inspections. These inspections, as well as the repair of any defects that they uncover can be a significant portion of the modern cost of aircraft ownership.
- Electric airplanes could also mean lower costs for airlines and perhaps cheaper airfares for passengers.
Powered by a Star's Heart:
- Safer than batteries or burning fuels.
- Less weight than conventional battery-powered electric airplanes, and even less weight than airplanes with internal combustion engines.
- Infinite Range. There is no need to recharge batteries or replace them.
Sources:
"Fly Electric: The Aircraft of the Future Takes Flight", The Atlantic, Accessed June 5, 2018, https://www.theatlantic.com/sponsored/thomson-reuters-why-2025-matters/electric-flight/208/
Terry Dunn, "Fuel-Free Flight: The State of Electric Airplanes", Tested, Accessed June 5, 2018, http://www.tested.com/art/makers/465688-fuel-free-flight-state-electric-airplanes/
George C. Larson, "Electric Power will Change the Look of Aviation", Air & Space, Last Modified December 2015, https://www.airspacemag.com/flight-today/NASA-electric-propulsion-180957302/
Terry Dunn, "Fuel-Free Flight: The State of Electric Airplanes", Tested, Accessed June 5, 2018, http://www.tested.com/art/makers/465688-fuel-free-flight-state-electric-airplanes/
George C. Larson, "Electric Power will Change the Look of Aviation", Air & Space, Last Modified December 2015, https://www.airspacemag.com/flight-today/NASA-electric-propulsion-180957302/