[RahulNagaraj]

According to reports, Heart Aerospace, a Swedish aviation startup, is gearing up for its first all-electric experimental flight in 2025. The aircraft called the Heart Experimental 1 (Heart X1) will be a demonstration aircraft, which will be similar in size to its future commercial plane.

Reports state that the demonstration aircraft will be of the same size as its upcoming 30-seater commercial plane - the ES-30, which has a 32-metre wingspan. The demonstration flight will take off from Plattsburgh International Airport in upstate New York - given its low air density and support for developing & testing transportation tech. Heart though hasn't confirmed if the X1 will have the same zero-emissions range as its ES-30 commercial plane - rated at 124 miles (200 km). The ES-30 could also feature a hybrid system allowing the total range to increase to 250 miles (400 km).



The company even claims that the ES-30 will be able to take off from runways as short as 1,100 metres, thanks to its high-torque electric motors & turbo propellers. With the limited range & seating capacity, Heart will focus on connecting smaller 'pocket airports' rather than competing with major airlines.

Heart stated, that the X1 is "undergoing extensive tests of critical systems to ensure a safe and successful flight." They also stated, "The initial experimental flight of the Heart X1 demonstrator is designed to validate the capabilities of Heart’s innovative electric propulsion technology."They also confirmed that the X2 will incorporate these learnings and even test the firm's "Independent Hybrid Propulsion" in 2026, before its commercial debut in 2028.

Source: NewAtlas

Link to Team-BHP news

[loki]

Good news. I always used to wonder why nobody was talking about Electric / Hydrogen/ alternative Fuels for Commercial Aircraft. There is this meme of Corporate bigshots attending Global Conferences on Climate change by travelling Business Class on widebody jets consuming thousands of gallons of fuel.

Hope we get to see an all electric commercial airliner soon !

[FiestaST]

I absolutely love the green side of electric flying, but good god, I cannot imagine the weight and volumes of those batteries, and then there's that taking off of that weight into the air.

[electric_eel]

Originally Posted by loki

Good news. I always used to wonder why nobody was talking about Electric / Hydrogen/ alternative Fuels for Commercial Aircraft. There is this meme of Corporate bigshots attending Global Conferences on Climate change by travelling Business Class on widebody jets consuming thousands of gallons of fuel.

Hope we get to see an all electric commercial airliner soon !

The biggest challenge in aviation is to manage the thrust to weight ratio. With the current energy density (both in terms of KWH / kg or KWH/litre) that is supported by batteries it is a tough ask. Hydrogen is much worse with additional losses in the Fuel Cell system.

Aviation would be the last that would be electrified. I would think that it would be better to invest on high speed rail, a much easier technology. This should cover all domestic travel and who knows might also work for continental transportation if we get our politics right. A 500 KMPH train would not be as fast as a 800 kmph airline but can make up for it by being connected to the city centre instead of a distant airport.

[DicKy]

Originally Posted by loki

There is this meme of Corporate bigshots attending Global Conferences on Climate change by travelling Business Class on widebody jets consuming thousands of gallons of fuel.

Guess the memes are about private jets. Business class in commercial widebody jets seem innocent and a drop in the ocean compared to the emissions per person that private jets make.

If you are talking about wide body private jets, guess it is only a handful of heads of states,royals, billionaires and oligarchs who have them eventhough the emissions are...

[V.Narayan]

Hybrid propulsion makes more practical sense than pure electric. Main reason is that the energy density of aviation fuel is around ~46,000 kilojoules/kg while that of lithium batteries is ~700 to ~800 kilojoules/kg. An electric aircraft can by definition carry very limited payload after carrying its batteries!

Here they seem to be using two separate powerplants driving propellers of different sizes. The two inner props are significantly larger than the two outers. I'm not sure, yet, which two are electric motors and which two are conventional turboprops. Their plan might be all four i.e. in hybrid mode for take-off and only electric for cruising or extending the range.

Given the motivation to go green or partially green hybrids might enter the regional commuter scene by 2030. Of course the challenge remains of lugging two engines while cruising in electric mode and carrying the enormous battery weight.

For mid sized and large airliners to go green we need either a 30X energy density breakthrough in batteries or a miniaturized nuclear powerplant.

[sandeepmdas]

Originally Posted by electric_eel

The biggest challenge in aviation is to manage the thrust to weight ratio. With the current energy density (both in terms of KWH / kg or KWH/litre) that is supported by batteries it is a tough ask.

The weight of an Electric aircraft will not diminish during flight as in the conventional aircraft. The MTOW and MLW will remain almost the same as no fuel is consumed inflight.

Flying such an aircraft would be less challenging as it can maintain a stable center of gravity throughout the flight, but the design challenge would be keeping the MLW as high as possible. Extra heavy-duty landing gear etc. will only increase the "dry" weight of the aircraft adversely.

[RS01]

Its a welcome move after transportation going electric on the surface and the sea.

I sincerely hope that the electricity for charging these birds does not come via the fossil fuel route, but through renewables.