AOPA Pilot Magazine - August 2018 - 61
DOGFIGHT
Are electric aircraft a viable part of general aviation's future?
I want to believe
Hot air
The innovation we've been waiting for
Believe it when you see it
BY SARAH DEENER
BY THOMAS A. HORNE
I PLUGGED MY CAR in at the airport recently and noticed an AOPA
sticker on the car next to mine. It was AOPA Editor in Chief Tom
Haines' plug-in hybrid, charging while he took a commercial flight
to Wichita. Had our appetite for engine innovation, unsated in our
flying lives, found an outlet elsewhere?
Hybrid vehicles have become commonplace on the roads in
the past two decades, and as charging stations proliferate, plug-in
hybrids and all-electric vehicles are becoming a fact of life. Now,
electric aircraft are nearing their time.
What about battery weight? Endurance? The technological
challenges are clear, and electric aircraft propulsion has significant drawbacks. But may I remind you of the compromises most
of us already make? Engines that don't want to start if they're too
hot-or too cold. Spark plugs that foul. We fly with powerplants
designed close to 70 years ago (see
"Savvy Maintenance: Time Capsule,"
p. 92); the rest of the world has moved
on. Mention a bad magneto to my
husband, and he'll assume you're an
X-Men fan.
Every aircraft design makes compromises. Many of us who fly mostly
short hops with one or two people will
gladly give up some range for fewer
SARAH DEENER
moving parts, lower operating costs,
and freedom from anxiety over the
price and availability of avgas.
Electric aircraft won't be for everyone. But the fact that we're
not all flying with jet engines or airframe parachutes doesn't mean
those aren't lasting innovations. Electric propulsion may find its
niche in the regulatory environment of Europe, in noise-sensitive
areas, and in flight training and recreational flying. And, as with
cars, it's likely hybrids will bridge the gap between the advantages
of piston engines and electric motors. Don't count out this technology because it can't be all things to all people.
Aviation has seen a lot of big ideas come and go. But before you
file "electric aviation" in the annals of history just after the Aerocar,
consider the powers beyond aviation pushing for innovation.
Everyone from regulators to car and cellphone manufacturers has an
interest in battery advances, and today's technology holds promise.
My plug-in hybrid vehicle isn't perfect, but I stop for gas so
infrequently I couldn't tell you how much it costs today. Imagine
taxiing up to the charging station at your favorite airport restaurant and "filling up" for less than the cost of your meal. Now that's
something I can look forward to.
HERE WE GO AGAIN. Seems like every dozen years or so a shiny new
thing pops up, begging to save general aviation from certain doom.
First it was ultralights, then LSAs-and now it's electrically powered entry-level airplanes. Then, as now, it's important to keep our
cool and take a close look at the shortcomings behind the promises.
Electric power faces several big challenges-such as fire. Today's
state-of-the-art lithium-ion batteries will catch fire if their internal
cells are exposed to air. Yes, these batteries are becoming more energydense, lighter, longer-lasting, and quicker to charge. But crash impacts
that breach their protective cases nearly always cause fires. Ask Tesla,
whose cars have caught fire after their batteries have been damaged.
Even small lithium-ion batteries can raise havoc. After several
fires aboard airliners caused by lithium-ion batteries, ICAO banned
bulk shipments aboard airliners in 2016. One was the fatal crash of
a UPS cargo flight, caused by a smoky
cockpit fire that incapacitated the crew.
The Boeing 787 Dreamliner fleet was
once grounded because of safety concerns about its lithium-ion batteries. To
this day, spare lithium-ion AA batteries
must fly as carry-on baggage because of
risks associated with jostling or movement in cargo holds; electronics with
internal lithium-ion batteries can be
checked or brought aboard as carryTHOMAS A. HORNE
ons. In these cases, the airplanes were
already certified. How can we expect a new generation of lithium-ionpowered aircraft to be certified, if the goal is safety standards equal
or better than those currently in use?
Plenty of other challenges await an all-electric future. I once asked
Pipistrel chief engineer Tine Tomazic when we could expect an allelectric, 120-knot four-seater to fly nonstop for 700 nautical miles. In
other words, performance roughly equal to that of a Cessna 172. "For
that, we'd need a whole new generation of semiconductors," he said.
For now, the best way to approach electric flight is to pair an
electrical propulsion unit with a Rotax-style internal combustion
engine. This is the track Pipistrel is following with its sleek Panthera
hybrid. Even so, we'd have the risk of lithium-ion battery fires-
unless battery safety is improved, or a better design emerges.
Don't get me wrong. I'm all for general aviation having a safe,
practical, certified all-electric future. But it will probably take longer
than the five years currently being promised. In the meantime, we'll
have to be satisfied with the reams of artists' renditions-some of
which resemble the Precambrian creatures in Stephen Jay Gould's
Wonderful Life. But that's just me.
AOPA
EMAIL sarah.deener@aopa.org
EMAIL tom.horne@aopa.org
www.aopa.org/pilot AOPA PILOT | 61
http://www.aopa.org/pilot
AOPA Pilot Magazine - August 2018
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of AOPA Pilot Magazine - August 2018
Contents
AOPA Pilot Magazine - August 2018 - Intro
AOPA Pilot Magazine - August 2018 - Cover1
AOPA Pilot Magazine - August 2018 - Cover2
AOPA Pilot Magazine - August 2018 - Contents
AOPA Pilot Magazine - August 2018 - 2
AOPA Pilot Magazine - August 2018 - 3
AOPA Pilot Magazine - August 2018 - 4
AOPA Pilot Magazine - August 2018 - 5
AOPA Pilot Magazine - August 2018 - 6
AOPA Pilot Magazine - August 2018 - 7
AOPA Pilot Magazine - August 2018 - 8
AOPA Pilot Magazine - August 2018 - 9
AOPA Pilot Magazine - August 2018 - 10
AOPA Pilot Magazine - August 2018 - 11
AOPA Pilot Magazine - August 2018 - 12
AOPA Pilot Magazine - August 2018 - 13
AOPA Pilot Magazine - August 2018 - 14
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AOPA Pilot Magazine - August 2018 - 16
AOPA Pilot Magazine - August 2018 - 17
AOPA Pilot Magazine - August 2018 - 18
AOPA Pilot Magazine - August 2018 - 19
AOPA Pilot Magazine - August 2018 - 20
AOPA Pilot Magazine - August 2018 - 21
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AOPA Pilot Magazine - August 2018 - 33
AOPA Pilot Magazine - August 2018 - 34
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AOPA Pilot Magazine - August 2018 - 48
AOPA Pilot Magazine - August 2018 - R-1
AOPA Pilot Magazine - August 2018 - R-2
AOPA Pilot Magazine - August 2018 - R-3
AOPA Pilot Magazine - August 2018 - R-4
AOPA Pilot Magazine - August 2018 - R-5
AOPA Pilot Magazine - August 2018 - R-6
AOPA Pilot Magazine - August 2018 - R-7
AOPA Pilot Magazine - August 2018 - R-8
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AOPA Pilot Magazine - August 2018 - Cover3
AOPA Pilot Magazine - August 2018 - Cover4
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