Funkworks
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- Jul 28, 2018
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That's always been the barrier to electric flight of course and avoiding it is a holy grail, but I'm telling ya, in the last few decades, battery efficiency has jumped by leaps and bounds!Hmmm. Electric helicopters.
Great idea, but you need a really l-o-o-o-o-o-o-ng extension cord.
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Nice to know there's a category!Not a helicopter, eVTOL is the proper category.
Nice to know there's a category!
(Still looks like a non-standard helicopter to me and probably to other lay people.)
“United has now put in a (highly provisional) US$1 billion dollar order for "up to 200" of Archer's Maker eVTOL air taxis, with an option for an additional 500 million's worth down the track.”Oh this isn't enough by itself to make me invest, but when a major airline pumps in $1B, it's a darn good sign of progress.
Interested in e-flight in general but can't really keep up with it.
Depends on your definition of soon. The CEO said in the video "delivery in 3 years".I hope they’re flying soon!
Going from an 80% scale model to delivery to customer in that timeframe is a little ambitious.Depends on your definition of soon. The CEO said in the video "delivery in 3 years".
And doesn't he look like a college undergrad? A little unsettling.
I'd totally missed the Nikola saga over the last few months. That led me down quite a rabbit trail of articles. Yikes.Going from an 80% scale model to delivery to customer in that timeframe is a little ambitious.
I’m getting Nikola vibes, but I guess we’ll see.
I died when I heard they pushed it down a hill.I'd totally missed the Nikola saga over the last few months. That led me down quite a rabbit trail of articles. Yikes.
He's young but so were the others who created our digital world in the last 25 years so I wouldn't go by that measurea alone, especially when they're backed by more experienced people (such as a major airline). If looks count, I'd say this one doesn't look like a crook. Anyway, I get excited by new tech and electric flight is a big one.Depends on your definition of soon. The CEO said in the video "delivery in 3 years".
And doesn't he look like a college undergrad? A little unsettling.
My problem with this technology is what happens if a few semiconductors fry themselves on the control boards? Or if the lipos have a runaway thermal event and turns into a fireball? Pick your death.
At least with planes there is a chance of a successful forced landing or with a motor failure in a helicopter can auto rotate to landing. Kurt
It's got a wing, so auto-rotation shouldn't be necessary. Plus if you're too low and slow for the wing auto-rotation is likely pointless, I'm not sure it's even possible with the smaller props (though, I'm pretty clueless there). Replacing everything after each flight seems prohibitively expensive and wouldn't make for very efficient air taxis.Aviation is all about redundancy. The six rotors are probably not all necessary for a safe landing but that’s only a visible part. There’s all sorts of other tricks one can do and it’s all part of e-flight R&D.
Auto-rotation probably still works. Frying circuits aren't fatal. Risk can be reduced as low as it needs to be. Lots of preventive maintenance on aircraft. Much more than with cars. Less moving parts also means less things can go wrong. Replace the circuits each year, month or week. Any way you look at it, BEVs need less maintenance than ICEs but you can always replace everything after each flight if you want to.
I won't fly at least in those multi-rotored electric upsized models. Will take the limo home from the airport. Too many things can go wrong especially if everything is automated and no pilot. Certification isn't everything. Just ask Boeing about the 737 MAX. I probably won't live long enough until I'd be comfortable with the technology. I don't have anywhere to go anyways. Oh FYI, I subscribe and read AWST front to back every issue. KurtRedundancy, testing/certification, battery cell isolation (so one battery cell "running away" won't impact other cells), etc.
Consider most modern aircraft - there is no longer mechanical linkage from the pilots stick to the surfaces, it is all electronics/hydraulics. Pilot stick sends signal to computer, computer then controls actuators. So if you are concerned about fried semiconductors - don't fly.........
Ditto,Never trust the first generation of anything.
M
Where they introduced a system WITHOUT redundancy....Certification isn't everything. Just ask Boeing about the 737 MAX.
We have fuel bladders under the floor of the helicopter cabin and the transmission is over our heads. So we sit on top of Jet A and under a heavy transmission, what could go wrong?Yeah, yeah, I know same thing with gasoline but at least a tank is generally away from the passenger compartment. If a lithium power pack is under the passengers that might be a bit worrisome.