Not all planes are Cirrus. Not all have the same takeoff and landing weight requirements.
> I don't climb into the flight-levels high enough for my current weight to matter
Isn't density altitude a thing? Haven't you ever filled up your tanks with less than their full capacity in order to carry more payload?
> My fuel not burning in my wings wouldn't change anything
Range? Do they weight the same if they are half full? Of course they do not.
> General aviation certification, while expensive, is far from the cost of commercial cert, especially for VFR aircraft.
If that too much of a hassle, they can be in the experimental category. The bigger problem is not the aircraft, it is the engines. There is a reason even your Cirrus SR-22 is using an old engine design. You CAN certify anything. Do you have the funds to do so is a better question.
> Of course the motor's electrical system is separate from the aircraft's other electrical system, that's aircraft certification 101 (being able to through the master switch deactivate alternator but not battery power). On top of that 12v instrumentation is (obviously) on a different power level than an electric engine, so the batteries will be different.
Yeah, but on a 'normal' plane, you can shutoff the entire electrical system. The electrical system that matters for continued flight is in the engine itself (the magnetos). Many aircraft do not even have a separate electrical system.
Electrical fires are deadly enough as it is, add a high voltage electrical bus and it is a much bigger deal.
Again, it can be worked around. And it again requires money.
Heck, Cirrus itself almost got bankrupt trying to release the Vision Jet. And that's based on 'proven' tech.
GA aircraft is not as big as a market as it once was. It certainly cannot compare with commercial aviation, so there's a limit on how much companies can invest.
Don't get me wrong, I think we need to stop burning fossil fuels as soon as possible – I drive an EV myself. And aircraft are a huge contributor to that (GA still spews lead around for the most part). If we want to change this, we need to start now.
But it is a hard problem, we shouldn't be so dismissive of the issues these manufacturers are facing. Or the drawbacks electric airplanes have.
I was unclear in my weight explanations. The OP’s point was that one of the advantages of fossil fuel aircraft was its ability to shed weight during flight from its fuel source burning away, and I claimed that was irrelevant for GA ( which it is ).
Completely agreed on the avantages of fuel for weight adjustments before takeoff though.
To be fair however the eFlyer specs of 440pounds of useful load for the 2, and 800 for the 4, are quite generous when you compare to fuel equivalent aircraft with realistic fuel loads.
The real insane drawback is the limited range at useful speeds...
Would hybrid (specifically series) make sense for GA fixed-wing? I'm pretty excited about it for VTOL, especially since it gives you a lot of redundancy in the electrical part and thus allows far lower reliability in the main engine-generator.
> I don't climb into the flight-levels high enough for my current weight to matter
Isn't density altitude a thing? Haven't you ever filled up your tanks with less than their full capacity in order to carry more payload?
> My fuel not burning in my wings wouldn't change anything
Range? Do they weight the same if they are half full? Of course they do not.
> General aviation certification, while expensive, is far from the cost of commercial cert, especially for VFR aircraft.
If that too much of a hassle, they can be in the experimental category. The bigger problem is not the aircraft, it is the engines. There is a reason even your Cirrus SR-22 is using an old engine design. You CAN certify anything. Do you have the funds to do so is a better question.
> Of course the motor's electrical system is separate from the aircraft's other electrical system, that's aircraft certification 101 (being able to through the master switch deactivate alternator but not battery power). On top of that 12v instrumentation is (obviously) on a different power level than an electric engine, so the batteries will be different.
Yeah, but on a 'normal' plane, you can shutoff the entire electrical system. The electrical system that matters for continued flight is in the engine itself (the magnetos). Many aircraft do not even have a separate electrical system. Electrical fires are deadly enough as it is, add a high voltage electrical bus and it is a much bigger deal. Again, it can be worked around. And it again requires money.
Heck, Cirrus itself almost got bankrupt trying to release the Vision Jet. And that's based on 'proven' tech.
GA aircraft is not as big as a market as it once was. It certainly cannot compare with commercial aviation, so there's a limit on how much companies can invest.
Don't get me wrong, I think we need to stop burning fossil fuels as soon as possible – I drive an EV myself. And aircraft are a huge contributor to that (GA still spews lead around for the most part). If we want to change this, we need to start now.
But it is a hard problem, we shouldn't be so dismissive of the issues these manufacturers are facing. Or the drawbacks electric airplanes have.