Originally Posted by
Big Pistons Forever
There are niche applications that are already viable for electric airplanes. Harbour Air should have their electric Beaver floatplane conversion in commercial service this summer and several Canadian flight schools are in the process of introducing electric trainer aircraft for PPL training. There is huge money being plowed into battery development so it is reasonable IMO, that we will see viable small short haul electric commuter aircraft in the next decade.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gartner_hype_cycle
We are in the very early stages of electric development and I expect it will follow the trajectory of most emergent technologies
I’m looking forward to the potential of them pax carrying electric-battery powered aircraft. Being able to ‘fuel’ an aircraft off me farms solar panels will be handy..
In the meantime I have concerns with battery development. Wouldn’t making more powerful battery’s smaller make them more explosive ? There’s always a trade-off with condensing energy.