Can the equivalent of “run up” engine checks be done on an apron whilst still plugged in to mains power?
there are no runup checks required, think of the motor just like a lightbulb. It is either on or off
If waiting on an apron or taxiway for clearance is the prop stationary?
Yes
Is there a rule of thumb where x hours of endurance in a ICE aircraft equals Y hours in a electric aircraft?
not that I am aware of
An equation that factors in low energy use in startup, taxi hold and descent?
If parked into wind for lunch how much charging could be achieved by a windmilling prop?
you would need about 30 kn of headwind to be able to generate power about 60 kn will give you around 6 kW
In respect to safety, should there be a more obvious exterior visual indication than a flashing red light, visible by anyone standing near the prop that the aircraft is “on” and the prop could move instantly? Or perhaps a warning sound that the aircraft is “on”
the same as in a normal aircraft, the engine should not be operating if there are people around the aircraft. If you are within about 3 m of the aircraft you can hear the cooling fans but there is no other indication from the outside
One thinks of the instant enormous torque of electric cars.....
that's why this gets up and goes so quickly, lots of torque on takeoff
With saftey in mind, and if not already in practice, could the drive system have a “soft startup” where the prop moves very slowly for a few seconds on startup?
it probably could be but what would happen in the case of a go around where you are coming into land at zero throttle and then need to put in a lot of throttle to go around. Would you want it to spend a few seconds turning slowly before engaging or power
As a former volunteer fireman I was surprised that there is not a common location or piece of hardware for the “off” switch or fuse, in electric cars.
Some are under the passenger seat!, a problem if the seat is occupied by an injured passenger! Others need panels to be unscrewed.
The threat is that the drive chain is
a) energised without any obvious indication
B) can be inadvertently energised during extraction of occupants.
there are four switches on the instrument panel, one disengages the throttle, the second disengages the electric motor, the third for avionics and the fourth for master. You would only need to turn off the master switch and everything shuts down
Will there be an industry standard for location or identification of the fuse in GA aircraft?
industry standards are developed between the manufacturers normally. Pipistrel was heavily involved in writing the ASTM standards because we are the leader in electric aircraft technology. We are hoping that others will follow suit using our charging technologies so you don't need three different chargers at each airport to suit three different manufacturers.... Because we are supplying the technology to a lot of other manufacturers who are using our motors, controllers etc we will probably end up with a charging standard by default
Interesting video of a recent tesla crash where the vehicle was hung up in a ditch yet the rear wheels are spinning whilst firemen work with gutters to extract the occupants.
No doubt, it’s still safer than working around a tank of gas