Electric Powered Aircraft

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Introduction In the quest to build an electric powered aircraft the engineers of all times have faced obstacles when they have to design and build these aircraft, one of them is the size and weight of the batteries that run the electric motors, the weight has been too heavy and not producing enough energy to supply the needed power. Other of the main obstacles is that the consequences of failure were too high and if these aircraft running out of power meant a guarantee crash landing. During the last several years and encouraged by the progress in technology and the batteries becoming lighter, more powerful and efficient that the interests in electric propulsion systems for aircraft has grown considerably. While not quiet yet to build full size electric powered aircraft but we are seeing the developing and manufacturing of various hybrid aircraft and smaller size all electric powered aircraft. Industry Incentives As the hybrid designed aircraft makes a such a great improvement in efficiency due to the use of a relatively small fuel driven engine designed to run at its most efficient during cruising altitudes and use only the battery and electric motor to provide the extra power needed for takeoff and climbing, in addition the battery can recover the energy from the small fuel driven engine during descent when the propellers spin a generator to produce electric power to charge the batteries. The recent grown in motivation for the study and developing of alternative propulsion systems is in great part of the clearly growth of the air transportation industry and this only means more fuel burning and a higher impact of the aviation industry on the environment and it will take many years until current aircraft are replaced with new gene... ... middle of paper ... ... Conclusion In my opinion I don’t see the implementation of electric or hybrid powered commercial aviation anytime in the near future because that turbo fan engine technology is still advancing at a fairly rapid pace and with the new technology these engines will significantly improve efficiency within the next few years and many more engine manufactures will add further improvement in the next couple of years outpacing electric and hybrid powered propulsion system improvements for the near future. References Electric and Mixed-Powered Aircraft, Oates, Pg.4,2012. Electric Flight – Potential and Limitations, Hepperle, 2013 "Once a Joke, Battery-Powered Airplanes Are Nearing Reality | MIT Technology Review." MIT Technology Review. MIT Technology Review, 2014. Web. 12 May 2014. "High Voltage." The Economist. The Economist Newspaper, 12 June 2010. Web. 12 May 2014.

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