Electric Airplanes

I used to fly. Then, it got too expensive. It costs even more now. A gallon of aviation fuel goes for $5 or even more. Even a small, ultra light airplane could burn four gallons per hour. That's $20 or more just for fuel for an hour in a single seat aircraft that flies about 50 mph.  The Cessna 180 I used to fly burns about 14 gallons per hour. Do the math. That's $70 an hour just for fuel.  It's no wonder there aren't that many Cessna 180s still flying.  It's no wonder that aircraft manufacturers like Piper and Beechcraft are out of business, and Cessna makes almost no small, fixed gear aircraft anymore. They simply are not practical. They cost too much to operate.

Those us who love going aloft need some other way to quench the passion for flying. We need aircraft that don't run on any kind of fossil fuel.  The good news is a number of innovators have come up with new light aircraft designs that are powered by electricity. A few of them run on fuel cells that make electricity by converting hydrogen to electric power.  No one expects the fuel cell to come down in cost sufficiently to commercialize fuel cell powered aircraft anytime soon.

Battery powered airplanes are a different story.  There are a couple aircraft emerging that could make flying affordable again, at least for people who just want to have a little fun in the sky for an hour or two.

One company, GreenWing International,  is just now starting to market a single seat, battery electric ultralight aircraft.  It's called the eSpyder, and the list price is just under $40,000.  For that, you get an ultralight that flies for about two hours under optimal conditions at a cruising speed of 38 mph.

As aviation experiences go, flying something like the eSpyder is not exactly scintillating.  But, it's a lot more fun than being stuck on the ground.  

Greenwing also has another design, the two seat e430 with better performance for a lot more money.

e430

It could be that the eSpyder is the leading edge in a  revolution in general aviation that will again allow the average person a means to fly at a cost that is affordable.  I hope it turns out that way.

Here is a link to a video of the eSpyder on the ground and in the air... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iuFpkc5odWc