On April 27, the US Air Force will test its first electric vertical take-off-and-landing aircraft (eVTOL), the Agility Prime. The craft will take-off and land like the Marine Corps’ Osprey but is electric-powered. The Air Force hopes to use eVTOLs for cargo transport, disaster relief, medical evacuation, and other uses. Meanwhile, Zunum Aero, an American firm backed by Boeing and JetBlue, is developing an 12-passenger fixed-wing electric aircraft. Its first flights are planned for this year or next, with deliveries beginning in 2022. A charter airline has already ordered one hundred.
In Europe, Airbus, Lilium (Germany), and Rolls-Royce are competing to make the eVTOLs for the air-taxi market. Siemens and Airbus have partnered to create the first fixed-wing plane, the E-Fan X, and expect to deliver a prototype this year. EasyJet, a low-cost airline, has set a goal that by the end of the decade it will use only electric jets for flights of less than 300 miles. Israel, Slovenia, and China are also developing electric aircraft.
Electric planes are quieter and cheaper than their fuel burning counterparts. Moreover, they’re cleaner. While aircraft only contribute 2-3% of global carbon emissions, air travel is expected to increase as standards of living rise across the world. Right now, the focus is on small planes, but once the technology has been proven, large jumbo-liners will be in the offing as well. Getting a handle on this now will pay dividends in the future.
This is only one aspect of a much broader transition occurring across the globe. As the world shifts from fossil fuels to an electricity-based economy, more major end-items will convert to electric power. This is just the beginning.
References:
Garret Reim, “US Air Force to launch ‘Agility Prime’ eVTOL development on 27 April,” Flight Global, 15 April 2020; retrieved from https://www.flightglobal.com/helicopters/us-air-force-to-launch-agility-prime-evtol-development-on-27-april/137897.article
Rohit Jaggi, “These Electric Planes and Flying Taxis are the Future of Aviation,” The Robb Report, March 2019, retrieved from https://robbreport.com/motors/aviation/best-electric-vertical-takeoff-aircraft-2843337/
John Wihbey, “Fly or drive? Parsing the evolving climate math,” Yale Climate Connections, 2 September 2015, retrieved from https://www.yaleclimateconnections.org/2015/09/evolving-climate-math-of-flying-vs-driving/?gclid=Cj0KCQjwm9D0BRCMARIsAIfvfIbHSqlfkJaseLj9YdMw3b_XWsQ-Y2d6_6QU5LKVNwa-6iHUtyI6sIIaAhcKEALw_wcB .
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