Comment by spongebobstoes
4 hours ago
could we relax the security around electric planes, because they don't carry as much highly explosive material?
that could make it much more convenient and appealing as a travel method
4 hours ago
could we relax the security around electric planes, because they don't carry as much highly explosive material?
that could make it much more convenient and appealing as a travel method
You don't see megawatt-hours of energy in batteries as potentially dangerous?
I'd be stunned if they put a MWh of battery on a plane. This plane in particular only has a range of 120 miles electric-only, so it probably has a pack roughly similar to a modern electric pickup. 200 kWh plus or minus.
By comparison, a regular regional jet probably has around 40 MWh of energy in jet fuel.
Megawatt-hours (MWh) are one billion times larger than milliwatt-hours (mWh).
1 reply →
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Jetfuel is dense and energetic.
Yes it is. And there's no getting around that, a battery is just chemically-stored energy, the same in that sense as kerosene.
Not due to them being electric. It's possible that being this small they could use FBO rules more like private jet/charter operators, but even then I doubt that would be the normal case. These seem to make the most sense as a last mile connector to regional airports, in which you'd want them inside the security boundary when making your connection.
It would really suck to have to go through security after your first flight whenever you are connecting.
Total energy is going to be comparable for aircraft with similar ranges, I don't think a lithium fire is any less unpleasant than a Jet-A fire for for anyone nearby.
Even if the batteries could be made entirely inert, the ability to deliver a plane sized slug of kinetic energy to a building of your choice retains most of the danger.
Even if that could be avoided, a plane must remain operational enough throughout all flights to avoid falling out of the sky.
It would take a large bomb to take out a whole bus load of passengers, a very small one to put safety critical systems of a plane out of action.
As much as I would appreciate this happening, I don't think electric planes are going to make it happen.
> lithium fire
Nit: a lithium ion battery fire isn't a lithium fire, it's the electrolyte. Lithium ion batteries don't use elemental lithium. Thankfully.
Jet fuel, like diesel are not flammable, let alone explosive. They are combustible.
Gasoline on the other hand …
They cary the same amount of energy
Interesting thought, but I'm not sure the (admittedly flammable & explosive) fuel load is the main threat posed by a hijacked aircraft — the large mass at velocity can still to major damage and casualties wherever it is crashed.
Plus, depending on the battery chemistry, that material could also create a serious fire; it is a lot of stored energy either way.
So, I would not wait for it
Nope, because we all know about the race to the bottom of all companies and the littlest crack or wiggle room will be used to save a penny and kill people.