Accusim this!!

[Dogsbody55]

Oh dear... Could this be the future of Accusim??

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-01-04/f ... st/9304424


Cheers,
Mike

[Mickel]

Not just yet... The article poses more questions than answers.

[Lewis - A2A]

I wouldn't worry, you've a long time yet, the driverless cars hasn't matured yet, let alone aircraft.

thanks,
Lewis

[AKar]

I wouldn't worry, you've a long time yet, the driverless cars hasn't matured yet, let alone aircraft.

That plane isn't driverless but gasolineless.

On the other hand, pilotless aviation is much more developed field than driverless road traffic. For instance, there are few serious next generation military aircraft programmes going on that would not offer an unmanned option.

In what comes to the power sources, it is the opposite, electric cars being much closer to reality than electric airplanes.

-Esa

[Lewis - A2A]

sorry yes, but you get the idea.

[Oracle427]

I loooooove Pipistriel aircraft. They look good and are innovative.

I would buy their Panthera if:

1) I could afford to buy it.
2) If it was certified in the US

There are lots of videos on their development of the electric trainer, I had my doubts at first, but clearly it is succeeding.

[AKar]

Yeah, and with some gliding background I can't help waiting electric self-launchers coming more affordable.

-Esa

[Dogsbody55]

Maybe I'm just an old fart, but there's something decidedly un-sexy about electric cars and planes. It seems to me to be rather like driving a fridge. I love the internal combustion engine, and I have to accept that it's time is limited, but electric gizmos provide none of the sense of occasion and drama. There's little to assault the senses and give the sense of fulfillment that you've tamed a beast.

I'll go back to my slippers and cocoa now.
Mike

[AKar]

Maybe I'm just an old fart, but there's something decidedly un-sexy about electric cars and planes. It seems to me to be rather like driving a fridge. I love the internal combustion engine, and I have to accept that it's time is limited, but electric gizmos provide none of the sense of occasion and drama. There's little to assault the senses and give the sense of fulfillment that you've tamed a beast.

I hear exactly what you say! I thought pretty much the same, and partly still do. But, not long ago, I had a chance to push the right pedal down on a pretty reasonable, rather boring electric car. Now, Jesus help me with that amount of torque!! And all that is put on the road in a clever way, not fooled by an occasional slush patch under another driving wheel or anything. I've also had a chance to try the Tesla, not of the latest models though. Holy moly how they just silently rocket off. And when remembering the speed limit, easing off a little, the batteries recharge from your excess fun. Brilliant!

-Esa

[HighBypass]

Trouble with electric cars is that they are silent. The situation's bad enough with jaywalking pedestrians wrapped up in iPod headphones etc. that they don't even hear fire-breathing muscle cars bearing down on them.

There's no doubting the instant torque available via electric motors etc. However, I recently watch a Formula E race - it took me back to a school sports hall where I used to race RC cars - the noises were almost the same! LOL The physics cannot be denied.

HOWEVER, there's something more base-level, visceral about the noise of eight or twelve cylinders in a vee, or radial engines. Heck even jet engines spooling up and afterburners lighting make the hairs on the neck stand up. POWER.. IMHO of course!

[crippy]

I think flying an electric plane would be very weird. You wouldn't feel the engine or hear the roar. Their might not even be a need for headsets if they are quiet enough.

[tbaac]

That's an interesting point Crippy about not getting the feedback from the engine (is that more relevant in flight sims, I don't know).

But at the same time, people talk about how peaceful it is in a hot air balloon. Imagine if a powered aircraft could be that quiet.
Up there in a J3 Cub in stealth mode.

[Tutmeister]

I’m with you as far as the noise of a big piston or jet but look at this video. It opened my eyes to accepting electric for ga. The noise is still there in the cockpit and outside you aren’t annoying people. I can seriously see me being very happy with this over chugging round in a warrior. Let’s be honest, 4 pot ga engines don’t exactly sound the best do they?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WiADDbeFanU

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WiADDbeFanU[/youtube]

[Mithras]

one hour endurance. Wow.
People, pressure groups, governments are infatuated with electric cars.
Yes, the emissions are zero. But. But. The power must come from hydrocarbon burning power stations. And if we all drive electric cars, we will need hundreds more power stations. You are just shifting the burning of fuel somewhere else.
Even hyrogen fuel cell vehicles, with zero emissions, require liquid hydrogen as a fuel. This, at present technologies, requires more power expended in burning hydrocarbons than is produced in liquid hydrogen.

There is no such thing as cool, free energy, unfortunately. It's just - where abouts in the world do you want the energy produced.

[HighBypass]

If everyone's plugging in their electric cars over here in the UK then our power companies will struggle for the increased demand for electricity...
https://www.carbonbrief.org/analysis-th ... supply-gap

One easy answer - nuclear power stations ..... Oooh, sorry , did I swear???