That’s the premise of a blog at TriplePundit.com by Dustin Charapata that compares Bye Energy’s development of an electric Skyhawk. He says: “Every so often, a concept comes along that changes the way we interact with the world. Several instantly come to mind – the wheel, jet engine, Facebook. At their core, these paradigm-shifting ideas usually provide a specific answer to a general problem and are nurtured by companies with the persistence and vision to take big ideas mainstream. Bye Energy could be such a company. The new startup is looking to transform general aviation by taking the most popular plane in history, the Cessna Skyhawk 172, and turning it into the equivalent of a flying hairdryer – just plug it in and go.” Read the full post here.
About Janice Wood
Janice Wood is editor of General Aviation News.
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Oh, fer gawd’s sake: is anyone else but me saying that aircraft involved in any form of commerce should be powered by engines fueled by petroleum?
Any effort to suggest that lightweight (read, expensive!) marginally powered electric motors using lightweight (again, expensive!) batteries can or should replace the internal combustion engine, is folly. At some point, we need to determine if GA is a hobbyist activity no different than, well, model airplanes.
The electric motor advocates seem to forget that powered flight is fundamentally about thrust to weight ratios that exceed a Vespa scooter, a useful radius of operation, and swift refueling. I’m talking about utility, here. If that’s not possible, well, let’s just all go hot-air ballooning, and call it a day.
Cheers!