COVER STORY
COVER STORY
Then there ’ s the propulsion layout . Traditionally , aircraft were built with large engines or propellers to provide the maximum power from one or two eternally mounted pieces . eVTOL enables a new , comfortable , and sophisticated means of people and parcel transport . They are given near car-like agility in the sky , which could create a flexible approach to aviation — something of a sci-fi movie prediction .
The idea of eVTOL on a wider scale is more than a novelty , but an exercise that could reduce aviation costs and enable purposebuilt aircraft that are scalable .
“ Rather than having a giant electric motor , it can have 12 little ones — without paying too much penalty . Essentially the fixed cost of each motor is quite minimal . That allows you to create this distributed propulsion arrangement where you can gain the safety benefit and the control benefit ,” says Xu .
“ Scalability also comes into the vertical takeoff dimension as well . That just means if you make a small , let ' s say five kilowatt electric motor , pound by pound — or kilogramme by kilogramme — it scales very well when you go to a 200 kilogram motor .”
CAN ELECTRIC DECARBONISATION INTERNATIONAL FLIGHT PATHS ?
These are all well and good from a national perspective , but what about international transportation ?
With more than 38 million international flights taking place in 2019 — decreasing
34 [ Aug 2023 ] EVMAGAZINE . COM