BeechTalk - BT

Username Protected · **Posted:** 01 Nov 2019, 10:06

https://copanational.org/en/2019/10/31/ ... t-20191031

Murray

Username Protected · **Posted:** 01 Nov 2019, 11:17

Wow that’s cool!

Love seeing stuff like this get developed.
Kudos to Harbor Air

Username Protected · **Posted:** 01 Nov 2019, 15:08

They must have a very unique mission profile for that aircraft (very short flights in relatively warm weather) if they expect an electric floatplane of that size to have any functionality. It seems that the energy density available in batteries simply doesn’t cut it for true electric working planes. Perhaps some type of hybrid electric with an efficient diesel generator? For small training planes that stay pretty close to the airport, it seems electric is a great way to go.
As an aside, it always bothers me when folks discuss electric motors as “emission free.” They never consider the electricity generation required. It’s got to come from somewhere and solar/wind doesn’t usually suffice. I use wind turbines at my home and they work great, but there are plenty of times the wind doesn’t blow and then the electricity comes from coal (most of it, actually).

Username Protected · **Posted:** 01 Nov 2019, 16:22

Clicked on the thread link expecting something different. Carry on.........

Username Protected · **Posted:** 01 Nov 2019, 22:56

Or a very long extension cord.

Username Protected wrote:

They must have a very unique mission profile for that aircraft (very short flights in relatively warm weather) if they expect an electric floatplane of that size to have any functionality. It seems that the energy density available in batteries simply doesn’t cut it for true electric working planes. Perhaps some type of hybrid electric with an efficient diesel generator? For small training planes that stay pretty close to the airport, it seems electric is a great way to go.
As an aside, it always bothers me when folks discuss electric motors as “emission free.” They never consider the electricity generation required. It’s got to come from somewhere and solar/wind doesn’t usually suffice. I use wind turbines at my home and they work great, but there are plenty of times the wind doesn’t blow and then the electricity comes from coal (most of it, actually).

Username Protected · **Posted:** 01 Nov 2019, 23:05

Username Protected wrote:

Clicked on the thread link expecting something different. Carry on.........

Me and thee!

Username Protected · **Posted:** 02 Nov 2019, 00:12

Username Protected wrote:

Or a very long extension cord.

Username Protected · **Posted:** 02 Nov 2019, 00:34

The title of this thread reminded me of Donovan:

Electrical banana
Is going to be a sudden craze
Electrical banana
Is bound to be the very next phase

...and then I clicked the link and saw the photos. Damn, that’s one yellow Beaver!

Username Protected · **Posted:** 02 Nov 2019, 09:30

I was expecting something totally different when I came to this thread. :lol:

Username Protected · **Posted:** 04 Nov 2019, 13:11

Quote:

The test flight will serve as a proof-of-concept as the weight of the batteries will result in such a reduced payload that it wouldn’t be commercially viable. However, continued battery development is expected to bring down the power-to-weight ratio to a commercially sustainable level.

Cool science experiment, but battery tech doesn't advance that quickly. I think it'll be a proof-of-concept for quite some time. At least it'll be cheap to operate!

Electric Beaver