On Apr 14, 10:11 am, Larry Dighera wrote:
On Mon, 14 Apr 2008 04:36:17 -0700 (PDT), virtuPIC
wrote in
:

just right -- and with no fuel to burn, it can cut the cost of
that hamburger down to about 60 cents. That's how much it costs
to fully charge the lithium-polymer battery pack, says Randall

Yeah, plus the cost for a new battery after probably less than 1,000
recharges. Plus motor cost. Plus plus plus... And your hamburger will
ge cold when you arrive - if not even the restaurant has closed since
you flew that slow.

All valid points.

But the significance of this successful electrically powered aircraft
is that it (along with the very few others) clearly demonstrates that
electrically powered aircraft are somewhat feasible. For unlike
surface vehicles that only require power to propel them forward,
aircraft require additional power to sustain them in the air. So
successful electrically powered aircraft are significantly more
remarkable than electric cars.

The Li-ion batteries currently available on the market, while a
significant enabling technologic advancement over lead-acid batteries,
are not designed for the heavy demands of motive service. Given the
torrent of Li-ion cell advancements being announced regularly, I
foresee them becoming ever better suited to that service as time goes
on.

Take a small piston engine instead and get better performance at
similar or even lower total cost.

I'll bet the Model T owner said something similar about the Wright
Flyer. :-)

Boeing also recently flew a fuel cell + battery powered airplane.
http://www.avweb.com/avwebflash/news..._197531-1.html

This is a necessary step if GA is to survive past this century. The
technology is just getting started so things can only get better. With
piston engines, the good days are behind us.