The Great Electric Air Race Has Begun
The title of this post is the first sentence of this article in The Independent, which is entitled Electric Planes: Could You Be Flying On A Battery-Powered Aircraft By 2027?.
This is the full first paragraph in an article by respected travel writer; Simon Calder.
The great electric air race has begun. Three European industry heavyweights have teamed up against a US startup and Britain’s biggest budget airline to develop the first commercial electric aircraft.
So is such an aircraft feasible?
When you consider that the three European heavyweights are Airbus, Rolls-Royce and Siemens, I suspect that the proposed project is serious.
It should also be said that the companies are not aiming for an all-electric aircraft, but a hybrid plane with a very efficient on-board generator and a two-tonne battery.
The key to success will probably include.
- Batteries with a very high energy density.
- A highly-efficient and quiet gas turbine, that generates a lot of energy.
- Radical air-frame design to take advantage of the technology.
In my view, the batteries will be the key, but making more efficient batteries with high charge densities will also do the following.
- Improve the range and performance of battery and hybrid road vehicles like buses, cars and trucks.
- Improve the range and performance of trains and trams.
- Transform energy storage, so wind and solar power can be stored and used in times of high demand.
- Allow every house, apartment or office to have its own affordable energy storage.
In all of these applications, the weight of the battery will be less of a problem.
This leads me to the conclusion, that we may see smaller electric plasnes in a few years, but the technology that will make it possible, may well improve other modes of transport so much, that electric planes are never an economic proposition.
It’ll be interesting to see what happens!
I think most travellers and members of the oublic will benefit in some ways.
Exploring Dublin’s Trams
Dublin’s trams are called the LUAS and the consist of two lines; the Green and the Red.
Currently, there are two upgrades taking place.
- The Green Line is being extended so there is an interchange with the Red in the centre of the City.
- New six-segment articulated trams are being added to the system.
I was told that the extended Green Line will be running in a couple of weeks.
These are some or the pictures I took.
Note that I bought a €7.20 day ticket to use the trams.
I feel that the new layout with the Red and Green Lines crossing at the junction of O’Connell and Abbey Streets is good.
This Google Map shows the area.
Note that O’Connell Street links up with the widest bridge, where the Green Line will cross the Liffey going North.
Going South the tram uses the next bridge to the East, which I think is newly-built.
I think that it would be prudent, if you stayed at a hotel in Dublin, to choose one on either tram line.
The Anonymous Widower 