Start by checking out this video:

When I was in college I took flight lessons in an old Cessna 152 at a little grass airstrip in South Jersey. The Cessna had dual carburetor heaters to maintain safe combustion during altitude changes, and the cockpit reeked of gasoline and burnt oil.

As a Solar Nerd I had to share this video of Siemen’s full electric aerobatic aircraft. Electric propulsion is lighter than fossil fuel propulsion, with a better torque ratio and higher reliability. Weight is a huge factor in aircraft design, so the next generation of light weight battery technology will further increase the operational range of these aircraft.

Electric aircraft are quieter and more powerful than their gas powered counterparts.

I’ve been driving a plug-in electric car since January, my Chevy Volt is faster off the line (in Sport mode) than most of the V-6 Lexus models I’ve owned over the last 20 years. Don’t be fooled by the tortoise slow Prius, real electric cars like the Volt and the Tesla are really fun to drive. My daughter calls my Volt “the spaceship”.     

Just watching the video above makes me want to fly one of these aircraft!

Electric propulsion works for any prop-driven aircraft, but nothing electric can match the output and high altitude capabilities of jet powered aircraft. Fossil fuels will stick around for many decades, but our power grid, cars, trucks and small aircraft will  eventually be powered by solar mixed with super high capacity batteries.

My personal goal is to help 2 to 5 homeowners transition to solar each week. Each household that goes solar means less coal being burnt, which means cleaner air for my children and their children!

Ben Alexander

April . 2017