I live in Slovenia and in the same "village" as this company is based in :D Ajdovščina. It is pretty cool company and we are all proud :D probably gonna try to work there after college
What a very lucky young person! I started out as a student licenced aircraft engineer in 1984 in the UK. Best of luck to you, fantastic product. Cant wait to go for a flip.
How did I not know about this? I live in perth and have been taking flight training recently. Cessna hires here are around 280 AUD/hr excluding instructors. Including instructors it is about 420 AUD/hr. Honestly speaking though, a 1 hour endurance with reserves is actually barely anything for WA flying. Dale river isn't even that far and isn't exactly far enough for student navigation training,
Problems in this video: "This makes flight training the perfect application." The ONLY application, super short flights are very rare and the airplanes used to make them are also often used for longer flights. "...which uses 50 year old engine technology..." Shows a completely modern automotive V8 converted for use in an aircraft. The Rotax that normally powers most Pipistrel aircraft is also fairly modern. Crosses the country with an electric airplane but charges it with a fossil fuel burning generator. Hilarious.
ColdFusion is the most cutting edge information channel on RUclips, love it. I have an electrical background installing solar panels and inverters for 10 years, I was excited back then about a renewable energy future and it's just so satisfying to see a real change begin to take the planet. When I was an apprentice electrician in 1999 I remember my TAFE teacher saying the electric motor technology is here, it's just the battery technology is not there yet. But now almost 20 years later it is! I wonder if that teacher who would be in his 80's now is thrilled to see this all finally happen!
I know graphene are just introduced to being researched. But I think if graphene as opposed to lithium become commercially viable then we are going to have a revolution in every aspect of technology.
Lol, you not being able to make sense of something doesn't make it nonsense. Type Robert Murray-Smith into youtube. He does more than talk, so theres much to learn there.
Jonathan Odude Samsung is heavily researching in graphene "batteries" and they even have plans on when they're going into production. So it really is going to happen.
As an aircraft performance engineer, I have to say my favorite part is the fact that performance for this plane is not locked down; as batteries get better and lighter, and once you certify new ones, the range and endurance will improve (not sure if the motor is flat rated in the engine control, I guess you could up current and voltage with better batteries but that would get you into a good deal of cert issues).
one critique, if I may. You talk about the first leg against the wind but not the return trip, some of us can imagine but would like to hear the pilots thoughts on the matter. Lawson di Ransom, Canyon
Love this stuff but cannot believe nobody tested if the generator could do the job before the flight plus you could have just taken two spare batteries with you in the same way you would have taken spare batteries for your camera.
They're playing with an Alpha Electro at one of the local airports (Pitt Meadows, BC, Canada). Just a quiet whirr on takeoff. Neat! If it had a little more endurance (say, 2 hours) I'd be interested in getting checked out and renting one for local flights. At 4 hours endurance I'd consider buying one.
Glad that you witnessed such a revolutionary technology first handedly. Of course it needs lot of research to improve battery but as a starting point 70 KM is impressive. With the advancement of grapene battery the range is expected to increase exponentially as it's lighter and quick to recharge. I'm pretty excited to be aware of the progress in the field, thanks mate. Have a great week ahead
Arun S Kumar the only thing i am wondering is. what will it do to the power grid. i mean, it’s great that its not using fuel but what is the carbon footprint of using electricity? better, or worse? not a lot of people think about this.
For one thing, power plants are already more efficient and give less pollution than needed to make gasoline for ICEs. Plus, Solar and other cleaner energy sources have been on the rise for the past decade.
Darrell Simon Yes, the controls and the dynamics will be different in my opinion. Only the take off and landing can be trained, you know the angle and other variables. I'm unable to think anything beyond that
I found your channel yesterday and have been binging it for two days straight now! Awesome channel, great production quality, excellent narration, and *very* informative! Well done, I’m hooked!
Dam this is what i call inspiring video. Studying engineering myself, cant stop thinking about working with this kind of project, something that will pave the way to future. Thanks cold fusion, nice to see you so deep in touch with the latest technology. cheers
@@Ipman-zq5ug war accelerates technological advances, it doesn't slow them down. Because of the resources and effort put into it, it is the largest driver of technology. A 4-year major war will advance technology 25 years.
I see battery swapping as a key to this innovation. Something you can take out in seconds and replace with precharged battery wherever you land. Then off you go while they then charge the flat battery you dropped off for whoever next needs it. Of course this would mean you would nerd a small fleet of aircraft that all share a common battery unit. But I think it's doable and the way forward for electric flight
They do battery swapping for scooters in Taiwan, gogoro is the name of company, they have 400 or more battery swapping stations all-around Taiwan. Maybe similar could be done with cars and airplanes. Gogoro has two batteries, each having 10 kilograms, car would need way more batteries like this, 15 or more, though it would take just 5 minutes to change them, but it would be heavy work for older people
Actually, some Pipistrel planes (maybe this one too) support battery swapping already. But the guys from the video obviously didn't have another battery, so.... :)
Yep, I also thought that was one loaded comment as if to say "the exact same gas engines built 50 years ago are used in planes today with no changes or improvements".....I wonder if he uses computers with "50 year old tech".
Most standard general aviation engines are literally over 60 year old and unchanged designs, and aren't even nearly as good or even reliable as modern automobile engines.
After WWII, airforces all over the place, and especially in the US, were selling off un-needed airplanes at basically any price that would get them out of the hangers. It killed a lot of the general aviation industry and it's never really recovered. General aviation engine technology in particular has been very stagnant, so calling it "50-year old technology" isn't that unfair. There are a few companies doing more innovative (or even just up to date) things with aircraft piston engines, but comparatively, all this electric propulsion technology is very new. Electric propulsion in general (not just aviation) has been innovating very quickly in last decade or so, whereas internal combustion has only had very incremental improvement even in areas that aren't as outdated as general aviation engines.
An amazing craft. Editing my comment, where I asked if it could have a chute. And I got to the point in the video where it has a rocket deployed chute. Fantastic!
“Every miserable fool who has nothing at all of which he can be proud, adopts as a last resource pride in the nation to which he belongs; he is ready and happy to defend all its faults and follies tooth and nail, thus reimbursing himself for his own inferiority.” ― Arthur Schopenhauer
Hey Dagogo we used to hear alot about your plans for your channel and what you have been up to, but not anymore. I miss your music too. I know alot has changed but your old subscribers from way back miss these stuff. Cheers and good work!
It won't happen that soon. You don't want a drugged teenager to kill you on the 25th floor, do you? So... until fully capable, intelligent enough, automated flying taxis are made, forget about flying cars. And you can completely forget a personal flying car that you would pilot. No sane government would allow that. And with a good reason. There are enough car crashes already, imagine the consequences if the cars were flying.
@@mortache I have no doubt that drone-like minicopters (for 2-4 persons) will be transporting people around the city when needed, but for that we need automated driving AND a nice source of power, like nuclear fusion power plants. Until that happens it won't be on a massive scale. People will use subway or taxis or rent. There will be less personally-owned cars in the future.
@@cinegraphics i just meant that our buildings aren't built for vehicles flying between them. Imagine a craft smashing in your bedroom through the window. Accidents do happen, even if its 0.00001% chance
Been a big fan & subscriber for around 2 yrs now, don't think I ever really comment on your videos (not big on comments in general), but i just felt really compelled to drop in here on this video in particular to just say congrats on not only your steady channel growth but what I believe right here to be a cornerstone in your creator career! The exclusive you managed to lock in on this story is impressive and note worthy from a journalist's stand point but also just something really cool to look back on in history. I mean just replay the history lessons in your mind about the birth of flight in itself including key figures such as the wright brothers, amelia earhart, boeing, BAE, etc., etc.. ..[I do believe we are witnessing what could be called the "rebirth" of the flight industry as we know it (among other terms) and even possibly that key element needed for the potential personal/private aircraft industry to finally take off (no pun intended) & be accessible to the average middle class enthusiast.. eventually more so logistical & cost effective enough to be implemented as more of an actual utility in our everyday lives, you know -along side the already established recreational use of private aircraft excluding the rich/private jets.] Anyway I just think that its pretty dang cool that you can now look back on this in history & be able to say, "yep, I was there to witness it begin to unfold first hand & was among the first to report on it"... -and to that i myself would like to add my own humble opinion; this being the best documentation done on this booming niche industry thus far! Always have loved your videos & how well they seem feed my ever increasing appetite for data but also some videos being responsible for even growing my curiosity & expanding my own point of view on certain topics! You never fail to deliver & for those things I am very grateful of you for. Keep up the amazing work, will always be there to watch & support! -Thanks again!!
Like he said, the main challenge is battery capacity. I'm not sure we could have solar panels to charge in-flight, they don't have that kind of electrical debit and even if they did, it would only be day flights, lol. So mainly battery issues, the quick fix is buy whatever Elon Musk builds :))
Boo ! Okay.. how about 25000 feet? It was only a century ago when they said flight wasnt possible. Right now the range isn't useful and the speed is down but maybe they can make improvements that can help justify it
Fantastic. This channel looks like its exactly where fans want it to be. At the forefront of technology, exploring and reporting on the potential of new and innovative technology. Great job my friend! Very interesting video.
When I watch any channel headphones don't matter really but when I watch your videos I wait till I get home and get my surround sound headphones on for that amazing sound quality from your channel
Nuclear energy is the future, making electricity the dirty way won't help the planet one iota! Forget wind and solar, they will not be able to produce the energy required for our all-electric future.
I am passionate about the planet and humanity, but driving around in electric cars and aeroplanes won't help the planet unless you can produce the electricity needed to do so cleanly. Solar panels create a lot of toxic waste in their production and recycling. Wind turbines last 40 years on land and 25 years on the sea before they need replacing. I'm just asking people to see beyond the simple things.
As a former (ageing) aeromodeller, I found the advances in battery technology, i.e. Lithium Polymer, made electric flying a practical alternative and the lighter weight was much easier on my back, but batteries were always removed from the aircraft and allowed to cool before recharging. An exchange of batteries on the ground might be the best way forward for this type of operation, but it would depend on aircraft manufacturers agreeing to share battery designs- dimensions, connection, etc. Very impressive and attractive aircraft, though, and I would love to fly it, but Perth is on the other side of the planet from me! Excellent Video
I think there's a point where planes with combustion engines are still the better alternative. Petrol has a much higher energy density than even the best commercially available lithium polymer batteries (34,2 MJ/L vs. 4,32 MJ/L). The energy in megajoules per kilogram puts li-po batteries at an even biger disadvantage (46,4 MJ/kg vs. 1,8 MJ/kg). To achieve the same performance (range, speed and power) of a plane with a petrol engine, an electric plane would have to carry more batteries, which would weigh more, slowing the plane down, forcing it to use more power and so on. It's the same problem with electric cars: An efficient car with a diesel engine can drive that distance with one tank. An electric car would have to tow an entire trailer full of batteries to do the same. The day of electric vehicles will come when batteries start approaching the energy density levels of petrol or gasses like propane or butane. Electric motors are far more efficient than piston engines and are simpler to build and maintain (less moving parts, no need for oil and massive cooling solutions, etc.). But right now fossil fuels like petrol, diesel and LPG are still the dominant fuels. And never forget that the electricity for the batteries has to come from somewhere.
You need to consider that a combustion engine is at most 15 to 20% efficient compared to well over 90% for electric motor so while there is still a big difference is not as large as it look from your numbers. Also depending on altitude and amount of oxygen efficiency may get even worse for combustion engine while electric will not be affected by this. This said with current cost of fuel vs battery a combustion engine will be more cost effective same is true for EV's when battery cost amortization is considered as it should be and not just the cost of electricity. Cheapest electricity at this time is generated by solar PV panels. Starting this winter I heat my house 100% with solar PV because it is the lowest cost option even compared to natural gas. Of course to be cost effective energy storage for the heating part is done in thermal mass at least 20x lower cost amortization than best Lithium battery.
@Corristo89 - The difference in motor efficiency and weight of the motor makes that gap between electric and petrol much smaller though than just energy density between batteries and petrol leads one to believe. Won't be long till it gets good enough to replace ICE engines in more and more applications.
1. Electric cars are already viable with small compromises. Very few people actually *need* cars with long range, which is why makers of fuel cars often equip them with tiny fuel tanks. 2. Energy density isn't a problem for cars. The technology is already here to make EVs that can drive 800 miles on a charge without "towing an entire trailer full of batteries", the only barrier is cost. 3. Energy density is already at a point where electric cars can be fully practical, and light electric aircraft for short training flights are practical as well. For 1 hour training flights, this electric plane wins hands down.
Cost will drive this. Traditional Airplane engines are really expensive; they need lots of maintenance, have complex failing modes, and they are quite heavy too. Fuel is expensive too. So, electric is going to eat this market at the rate batteries and related technology improve. Right now it is kind of underwhelming but the next ten years are going to change that dramatically. The key point will be when most 2-3 hour flights are going to be possible using small airplanes at the fraction of the cost of current planes. At that point you will see mass deployment of cheap to manufacture and operate planes that will compete with cars in price point rather than with traditional short haul flight. That's a game changer. Another factor here is noise. With electric planes, you can fly into areas that are currently restricted because of noise: like most populated areas that are interesting to fly to. Lots of small air fields across Europe have closed for this reason. Given that and the efficiency at short range, electric planes could revolutionize short hops in and around cities. A Tesla takes about half a ton of battery and has 4x the capacity of what this plane takes; which is roughly what you'd need to get close to the range of e.g. a cessna 172 (about 4-5 hours). Basically with battery R&D being invested in heavily and several promising battery concepts that promise vast improvements in energy density, that is going to help a lot. Also, a cessna 172 carries an engine that weighs well over 100kg and burns through another 150kg or so of fuel. That's some useful battery capacity. Electrical engines are comparatively light. You can get 20kw engines under 10kg. And there's an announced 260KW engine that weighs about 50kg by Siemens. There are all sort of thing you can do structurally to the plane to optimize it for electrical flight. For example, gliders only need power to get up and get a quite useful range once they are up. Electrical operates the same at high altitudes. So getting up to 30k feet in 20 minutes and then gliding to your destination is an entirely valid way to get from A to B. Especially if you can stop and restart the engine with essentially no risk.
Nice to see the Alpha Electro that's at my local airport, I've seen this exact Pipistrel on 2 occasions flying over areas around Mandurah, which is near Perth.
I have been flying RC Airplanes and Helicopters for about 15 years now. All of them are electric brushless motors, they are as powerful and fast as most all of the gas/nitro planes at our field. I knew this was in the near future. Cool stuff!!
They would mainly lower maintenance costs and improve charging times, which is no small feat. However what we are really waiting for (and rapidly getting closer to) are higher density batteries that can store many times the energy while also lowering the weight.
Raydeus It's quite unlikely, there are fundamental physical limits that prevent batteries from ever reaching the energy density of petrol. Liquid hydrogen is a more promising alternative.
maximkazhenkov11 "Raydeus It's quite unlikely, there are fundamental physical limits that prevent batteries from ever reaching the energy density of petrol. Liquid hydrogen is a more promising alternative." Relative efficiency differences and simpler support systems, mean that batteries only need to be 30% as energy-dense as gasoline to meet weight- and range-equivalence with internal combustion engine powered vehicles. However, matching the energy density of petrol has been predicted by 2040 or sooner. Less than 20% of the energy created by an IC engine gets converted into froward motion. An electric power-train can be 90% efficient. Liquid hydrogen isn't a promising alternative because the hydrogen still has to be burnt in an extremely inefficient IC engine. Further more, burning hydrogen in an IC engine is even less efficient than petrol. Alternatively, hydrogen can be used in fuel cells, but unfortunately fuel cells are way behind in terms of development and require expensive catalysts to function, like platinum for example.
"Relative efficiency differences and simpler support systems, mean that batteries only need to be 30% as energy-dense as gasoline" 30% is a tall order, currently it's more like *two orders of magnitude* difference between batteries and gasoline. "However, matching the energy density of petrol has been predicted by 2040 or sooner." What prediction would that be? Please don't tell me it's exponential extrapolation because that's how you get predictions like 500% efficient solar panels. "Less than 20% of the energy created by an IC engine gets converted into froward motion. An electric power-train can be 90% efficient." That might be true with cars and trains, which is why I'm totally on board with electric cars. But airplanes is a different story, there is no reaction mass you can easily push against, and it makes no difference in efficiency whether you heat air through combustion or electricity. Worse yet, unlike cars, airplanes are almost exclusively used for ultra-long distance travels so range matters *a lot* . I hope you realize this video is about electric airplanes?
maximkazhenkov11 "30% is a tall order," Expected between 2020 -2025. "What prediction would that be? Please don't tell me it's exponential extrapolation because that's how you get predictions like 500% efficient solar panels." www.autoguide.com/auto-news/2016/05/battery-energy-density-to-equal-gasoline-by-2045-report.html "But airplanes is a different story, there is no reaction mass you can easily push against, and it makes no difference in efficiency whether you heat air through combustion or electricity." You don't push against reaction mass. For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. Pushing against something isn't required. You aren't heating air, props push air backward. See Newton's third law. "Worse yet, unlike cars, airplanes are almost exclusively used for ultra-long distance travels so range matters a lot " No, not almost exclusively for ultra long flights. There are a multitude of short-haul routes. A couple of years ago, at EGLL (Heathrow) there were so many short-haul flights there were issues with clogged taxi ways. Then we have a plethora of private aircraft, many flights schools, air taxi's, etc. In Japan they even use 747's for ultra short flights of one hour. "I hope you realize this video is about electric airplanes?" Yes, and the future is bright for EV aircraft. As we speak Airbus Siemens and Rolls Royce have joined forces to develop a hybrid aircraft. A number of other companies are also working on the tech. So I see aviation going the same route as cars. Hybrid first, and as battery tech improves more and more all electric power trains. And in terms of batter tech, there are some exciting technologist in the lab as we speak. A company called Kilowatt Labs say they have super capacitor technology that has the same energy density as lithium ion and the same form factor, but it charges in a matter of seconds. Then we have Gold nanowire batteries, Solid state lithium-ion, Grabat graphene batteries, Laser-made microsupercapacitors, Foam batteries, Aluminium-air batteries, Sodium-ion batteries, and on and on. All of which offer advantages over current tech. One of the most exciting developments is the Toshiba Super Charge ion Battery that will have three times the range of current batteries and charge in six minutes. So the range in terms of the aircraft in the video would be more akin to 3 hours with the advantage of super fast charging. So already, even as we speak, significantly improved batteries are almost upon us. So now project forward ten years and consider what sort of battery tech we will have then, at this rate of development.
Holy crap this is gold for skydiving! Short burst small aircraft constantly landing and taking off again. It might make the sport more financially bearable in the long run! Awesome!
i guess im randomly asking but does anybody know of a way to log back into an instagram account?? I stupidly lost the password. I would love any tips you can give me.
Thanks for the video. One thing I disagree with though is the way people will say things like "suitable technology to extend flight time is years away." As a scientist, inventor, and researcher myself I know how ludicrous and potentially discouraging such statements are. Innovation can take place in the twinkling of an eye! Instead simply state positive comments like "We are looking forward to innovations that will increase flight time and welcome your ideas!" God bless and be well!
Extremely interesting analysis. One question: how can this be called a "cross-country" flight when it only went 65km? Last I checked, Australia was considerably wider than that... ;)
Since this video took place in Australia, I didn't think that had to be specified. If I'm in the U.S. and I take a cross-country flight, I'm not measuring it against Haiti.
Indeed, and with all the sunshine you get down under makes sense to have standardised batteries being charged up on solar and ready to swap for depleted ones at airfields. They should go this way with cars too but car companies all started to design their own batteries.
That plane already has swappable batteries. Part of the concept of using it as a trainer is you don't have to refuel, you just land, swap the batteries and it's ready for another student. You can let the batteries charge overnight.
Pipistrel is an innovative company. Your comparison to the cessna 172 (4place) isn't realistic, a 152, tomahawk, diamond da 20 or a Pipistrel virus would be a better comparison as they're all 2 place. Therefore $3/hr vs $30/hr isn't related and thr upfront cost of this plane vs a used unit suitable for training is a better option. This is novel but electric powered aircraft operate in a very restricted use box.
you may be able to land in some random field but it has not been cleared for rocks or other small but deadly obstacles such as a childs tricycle hidding in deeper grass being hit at 140 kmh would be the end of that aircraft
In an Emergency , Anywhere , they can Pull a Big Lever and land via a Parachute Sysrem ! I believe that All of these Electric Aeroplanes are Fitted with Parachutes !
I love this plane and I'm not taking anything away from it at all. It's great. The problem is with battery tech. A really good battery improvement is ALWAYS 5 years away. The horizon that ever recedes. All good wishes!
@@noapology88 -- Yes, that is my point: I did watch, but I almost did not watch because of the type of title that I usually avoid. That would have been a shame because the video contents were good. Thus my tip to ColdFusion is to not use this style of titles.
@@anilkmr458 - I've seen this type of title many times, also on this channel. That is why I emphesized that that type of title can be offputting to people, like me. Someone using a title with "the truth" is always clickbaiting, even with the best intentions.
A diesel generator to charge up an electric aeroplane oh the irony Tesla did the same thing when they tried to drive the Roadster across Europe they just didn't tell anybody
You are using a fuel powered generator to recharge a electric plane? This is even worse than to use a fuel powered plane instead. This is a big marketing fail. Anyway, the plane is brilliant. Keep on going to promote it. (without making use of any fuel please ;-)
I feel like their motive is more for the comfort of the user and not being more environmentally friendly. An electric motor will operate smoother than a gas powered engine. So if you have a low power engine that creates little vibration and a high powered electric motor that is powered by the engine, then the ride will be smoother than a big gas engine powering the plane. It could also create cheaper costs for flight, as you would use less fuel (note: Prius, very cost effective and efficient, but lacking in style). Let's say you have a normal plane that burns 10 g/h, and a hybrid plane that burns 2 g/h, the hybrid plane would obviously cost less in fuel as it less fuel.
He! Wow i didn't even notice your popularity lately.. Last time i commented is said, keep it up you will rise if you do! Congratulations on your well deserved recognition. Have a good one!
was just casually searching for videos on electric airplanes, found this gem and was thinking to myself: "Why havent i heard of this yet?!" holy crap this video was uploaded just a day ago!
Well not Musk but.....Tesla namely real Nikola Tesla was born less than 100 mile SSE from born place of this Alpha Pipistrel and his first payed job was approx 100 mile E from pipistrel factory
Awesome work man. Keep it up. Great video and content. Here's wishing this company and others like it all the best for paving the future. Its not easy being a leader
Ah, no it isn't. Not to mention that farmers using planes for fence and stock inspection don't need to fly for more than an hour so they will save on maintenance compared to a combustion engine, not to mention much less chance of engine failure in flight. You don't know what you are talking about.
even the best (read: insanely expensive and hard to produce) batteries using current technology have 15% of the energy density of liquid fuel. a typical battery has around 10%. for cars and ships that is not a huge deal, but electric planes just arent economically viable, and wont be for the foreseeable future. also, battery production is a fairly dirty process that relies on non-renewable materials. more sustainable long-term fuels for aircraft would be hydrogen (2x the energy density of the best batteries) and nuclear (>1000x the energy density of liquid fuel).
Rob Loney There are no facts in the comment. Does not even know the basics of lithium ion production. Producing anode and cathode material is just large scale industrial cooking. There is nothing dirty about it. They even make sure mixing is done in a sealed room because water vapor ruins the production. Lithium is also extracted from lithium rich salt making mining it very clean you just need to pump brine and solar evaporate it in a brine pool.
its wonderful that you think you can just leave some salt in the sun and get batteries, but reality is a bit more complicated. first, large scale battery production is shifting to industrial lithium mining, not evaporation pools. second, lithium is just one of the ingredients of lithium batteries. you also need graphite, cobalt, nickel, etc., often extracted in 3rd world countries, and causing serious water contamination. its great to use a rechargeable battery and pat yourself in the back thinking "oohh... im such an environmentalist", forgetting (or pretending to forget) the cost of producing the battery, the cost of producing the energy that is used to charge the battery, and the cost of disposing of the battery after the end of its useful life. anyway, for aviation, the fundamental issue is simply low energy density. lithium batteries weigh 2x as much as the equivalent (energy) amount of hydrogen, and 10x more than the equivalent (energy) amount of gasoline / kerosene. also, even after they are discharged, you are still carrying that weight, so you actually need _more_ energy to cover the same distance.
I love the concepts of electric planes are really interesting but I think your being a little dishonest regarding maintenance costs what will be passed on to learning pilots. the motor and definitely the battery will have an operational service hour limit and those are not cheap parts. no mention on how long the service intervals or MTBF would be...
Dana Vixen The motor won’t be an issue over the life of the aircraft really. And even if it is, a replacement will be far cheaper and easier to install than a regular engine.
That V8 engine at 1:53 certainly looks super cool. It looks like a Chevy Corvette engine. It's an underhead camshaft engine. Bet that airplane sounds awesome.
Funny, I just finished writing a paper and doing a presentation on this subject last week for my Aviation Senior Seminar class. It's great to see these aircraft actually flying, and I hope this technology continues to advance. But like you said, the charging infrastructure needs to be put in place before these aircraft will be practical in the wider aviation industry.
If there is some room for space customization then low-mid budget film makers may take interest in using it for shooting scenes. Nice to see it happening.
![Gunna - HIM ALL ALONG [Official Video]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/w7Wf0h1Q8a4/mqdefault.jpg)
I live in Slovenia and in the same "village" as this company is based in :D Ajdovščina. It is pretty cool company and we are all proud :D probably gonna try to work there after college
Pipistrel is an amazing company. I love seeing their new stuff at AirVentrue every year. If they had a job opening I could fill, I'd apply too.
Kako ide život? Pozdrav iz Crne Gore!
Kudos to the slovenes for having built the first certified electric fying machine. The future of flight is electric, even if it still a few years away
What a very lucky young person! I started out as a student licenced aircraft engineer in 1984 in the UK. Best of luck to you, fantastic product. Cant wait to go for a flip.
Taj laze, nije iz Slovenije
How did I not know about this? I live in perth and have been taking flight training recently. Cessna hires here are around 280 AUD/hr excluding instructors. Including instructors it is about 420 AUD/hr.
Honestly speaking though, a 1 hour endurance with reserves is actually barely anything for WA flying. Dale river isn't even that far and isn't exactly far enough for student navigation training,
coldfusion is cool
CoolFusion
Random Guy Wtf
coldfusion is cold
Random Guy What made you say that? Lol
Problems in this video:
"This makes flight training the perfect application."
The ONLY application, super short flights are very rare and the airplanes used to make them are also often used for longer flights.
"...which uses 50 year old engine technology..."
Shows a completely modern automotive V8 converted for use in an aircraft. The Rotax that normally powers most Pipistrel aircraft is also fairly modern.
Crosses the country with an electric airplane but charges it with a fossil fuel burning generator.
Hilarious.
ColdFusion is the most cutting edge information channel on RUclips, love it. I have an electrical background installing solar panels and inverters for 10 years, I was excited back then about a renewable energy future and it's just so satisfying to see a real change begin to take the planet. When I was an apprentice electrician in 1999 I remember my TAFE teacher saying the electric motor technology is here, it's just the battery technology is not there yet. But now almost 20 years later it is! I wonder if that teacher who would be in his 80's now is thrilled to see this all finally happen!
I know graphene are just introduced to being researched. But I think if graphene as opposed to lithium become commercially viable then we are going to have a revolution in every aspect of technology.
Jonathan Odude Yes, certainly. Li ion using graphene.
Incremental improvement maybe, nothing revolutionary. Especially in terms of energy density
Lol, you not being able to make sense of something doesn't make it nonsense. Type Robert Murray-Smith into youtube. He does more than talk, so theres much to learn there.
Jonathan Odude Samsung is heavily researching in graphene "batteries" and they even have plans on when they're going into production. So it really is going to happen.
Jonathan Odude I have heard that Graphene is good as a battery. It can have 2-3x better energy storage than a lithium battery and a faster charging
As an aircraft performance engineer, I have to say my favorite part is the fact that performance for this plane is not locked down; as batteries get better and lighter, and once you certify new ones, the range and endurance will improve (not sure if the motor is flat rated in the engine control, I guess you could up current and voltage with better batteries but that would get you into a good deal of cert issues).
coldfusion = news done right.
Joxus Art documentary done right
And he is getting chances. Awesome.
I do 100% agree
Mayur Bhedru No, he is right. News should not be about the same useless bullshit or propanganda.
one critique, if I may. You talk about the first leg against the wind but not the return trip, some of us can imagine but would like to hear the pilots thoughts on the matter. Lawson di Ransom, Canyon
Love this stuff but cannot believe nobody tested if the generator could do the job before the flight plus you could have just taken two spare batteries with you in the same way you would have taken spare batteries for your camera.
indeed if you can take a passenger you can take the battery instead (depends on the weight of the battery of course)
They're playing with an Alpha Electro at one of the local airports (Pitt Meadows, BC, Canada). Just a quiet whirr on takeoff. Neat!
If it had a little more endurance (say, 2 hours) I'd be interested in getting checked out and renting one for local flights. At 4 hours endurance I'd consider buying one.
Comparing this to a 172 for costs is a bit of a stretch dude
try a 150 next time
Or, just compare it to the Rotax powered Alpha.
Glad that you witnessed such a revolutionary technology first handedly. Of course it needs lot of research to improve battery but as a starting point 70 KM is impressive. With the advancement of grapene battery the range is expected to increase exponentially as it's lighter and quick to recharge. I'm pretty excited to be aware of the progress in the field, thanks mate. Have a great week ahead
Arun S Kumar the only thing i am wondering is. what will it do to the power grid. i mean, it’s great that its not using fuel but what is the carbon footprint of using electricity? better, or worse? not a lot of people think about this.
For one thing, power plants are already more efficient and give less pollution than needed to make gasoline for ICEs. Plus, Solar and other cleaner energy sources have been on the rise for the past decade.
If it's being used for flight training, would that be kinda ineffective because their is less contrails than current aircraft?
Darrell Simon
Yes, the controls and the dynamics will be different in my opinion. Only the take off and landing can be trained, you know the angle and other variables. I'm unable to think anything beyond that
They could just as well add extra control panels to train for ICE aircraft.
As a very old pilot, I am wishing I was much younger. This just blows my mind. This is a very exciting time for transportation!
Metal birds are amazing.
Not much metal in that bird.
Metal flying dinosaurs.
F Huber It looked like aluminium on somw parts but you are right in that it can't have a lot since it is such a lightweight plane.
LOLL'I579 Yes, they would rather be that size still.
xWood4000 *fiberglass bird*
I found your channel yesterday and have been binging it for two days straight now!
Awesome channel, great production quality, excellent narration, and *very* informative! Well done, I’m hooked!
Dam this is what i call inspiring video. Studying engineering myself, cant stop thinking about working with this kind of project, something that will pave the way to future. Thanks cold fusion, nice to see you so deep in touch with the latest technology. cheers
The next project is already under development.
Google: "Pipistrel Panthera Electro" . 145 kW powertrain, sleek, fast, 400 km range.
Cold fusion is one of the best channels on RUclips , the material is well chosen, brief and knowledgeable ,,, love you , thanks
Boy I'm gonna enjoy the 2020s.
Levo GAMES agreed
test baker agree, I sense major wars in the future which will slow or destroy our technological advances.
@@Ipman-zq5ug war accelerates technological advances, it doesn't slow them down. Because of the resources and effort put into it, it is the largest driver of technology. A 4-year major war will advance technology 25 years.
I've come from the future to tell you you've made a terrible mistake
I see battery swapping as a key to this innovation. Something you can take out in seconds and replace with precharged battery wherever you land. Then off you go while they then charge the flat battery you dropped off for whoever next needs it. Of course this would mean you would nerd a small fleet of aircraft that all share a common battery unit. But I think it's doable and the way forward for electric flight
battery swapping works for flight training where a fleet of planes and their batteries are owned by the same flight school.
absolutly, with solar panels at the aiport .
They do battery swapping for scooters in Taiwan, gogoro is the name of company, they have 400 or more battery swapping stations all-around Taiwan.
Maybe similar could be done with cars and airplanes.
Gogoro has two batteries, each having 10 kilograms, car would need way more batteries like this, 15 or more, though it would take just 5 minutes to change them, but it would be heavy work for older people
Actually, some Pipistrel planes (maybe this one too) support battery swapping already. But the guys from the video obviously didn't have another battery, so.... :)
Very logical.
Loved this part: "Instead of using a gas engine with 50-year old technology ..." it uses an electric motor based on 100 year old technology.
Yep, I also thought that was one loaded comment as if to say "the exact same gas engines built 50 years ago are used in planes today with no changes or improvements".....I wonder if he uses computers with "50 year old tech".
To be fair today’s brushless motors are very different than the original electric motors.
Most standard general aviation engines are literally over 60 year old and unchanged designs, and aren't even nearly as good or even reliable as modern automobile engines.
Larry Booth ...Great comment Booth. I wish I thought of it. Cheers.
After WWII, airforces all over the place, and especially in the US, were selling off un-needed airplanes at basically any price that would get them out of the hangers. It killed a lot of the general aviation industry and it's never really recovered. General aviation engine technology in particular has been very stagnant, so calling it "50-year old technology" isn't that unfair. There are a few companies doing more innovative (or even just up to date) things with aircraft piston engines, but comparatively, all this electric propulsion technology is very new. Electric propulsion in general (not just aviation) has been innovating very quickly in last decade or so, whereas internal combustion has only had very incremental improvement even in areas that aren't as outdated as general aviation engines.
An amazing craft. Editing my comment, where I asked if it could have a chute. And I got to the point in the video where it has a rocket deployed chute. Fantastic!
I will tell you in short, ENERGY DENSITY!
Im happy that small country as mine have something awesome to show. Hello from slovenia
I was finished with the video when it said one hour flight time. Imagine how big the battery has to be to carry 150 passengers 2000 miles.
Yea, battery tech are just 50 years behind
I m also from Slovenia. We are all proud of that company and mr. Ivo Boscarol, he is great entrepreneur, and innovator.
Im so proud of my country!❤🇸🇮
Nik Topler same
“Every miserable fool who has nothing at all of which he can be proud, adopts as a last resource pride in the nation to which he belongs; he is ready and happy to defend all its faults and follies tooth and nail, thus reimbursing himself for his own inferiority.”
― Arthur Schopenhauer
Hey Dagogo we used to hear alot about your plans for your channel and what you have been up to, but not anymore. I miss your music too. I know alot has changed but your old subscribers from way back miss these stuff. Cheers and good work!
1.7M subscribed! I remember when you were starting and changed your channel's name... well done mate!
I've seen one of these things lurking around the lower mainland.
It's so freaking quiet. It really reminds me of a sail plane.
It would have been awesome if you did a collaboration with Wendover Productions on this video! :D
Dope collaboration. However, Dagogo has a slightly different approach to his videos.
Dagogo, you're in your element with these video's man. I switched off adblock and watched the entire ad for you. Keep it up!
1950: I hope there will be flying cars in the future
2018: say no more
You dont realise how loud that would be do you
It won't happen that soon. You don't want a drugged teenager to kill you on the 25th floor, do you? So... until fully capable, intelligent enough, automated flying taxis are made, forget about flying cars. And you can completely forget a personal flying car that you would pilot. No sane government would allow that. And with a good reason. There are enough car crashes already, imagine the consequences if the cars were flying.
@@cinegraphics our cities arent even designed for that. Old enough cities werent even designed for cars lol
@@mortache I have no doubt that drone-like minicopters (for 2-4 persons) will be transporting people around the city when needed, but for that we need automated driving AND a nice source of power, like nuclear fusion power plants. Until that happens it won't be on a massive scale. People will use subway or taxis or rent. There will be less personally-owned cars in the future.
@@cinegraphics i just meant that our buildings aren't built for vehicles flying between them. Imagine a craft smashing in your bedroom through the window. Accidents do happen, even if its 0.00001% chance
ColdFusion is one of the Dopest RUclipsrs out there. I'm so glad I subscribed here.
"Let me know your thoughts on Electric Aircraft."
About, Damn, time!
I love that it uses a Type 2 connector just like a car!
Hey! Love from Slovenia!
Been a big fan & subscriber for around 2 yrs now, don't think I ever really comment on your videos (not big on comments in general), but i just felt really compelled to drop in here on this video in particular to just say congrats on not only your steady channel growth but what I believe right here to be a cornerstone in your creator career! The exclusive you managed to lock in on this story is impressive and note worthy from a journalist's stand point but also just something really cool to look back on in history. I mean just replay the history lessons in your mind about the birth of flight in itself including key figures such as the wright brothers, amelia earhart, boeing, BAE, etc., etc..
..[I do believe we are witnessing what could be called the "rebirth" of the flight industry as we know it (among other terms) and even possibly that key element needed for the potential personal/private aircraft industry to finally take off (no pun intended) & be accessible to the average middle class enthusiast.. eventually more so logistical & cost effective enough to be implemented as more of an actual utility in our everyday lives, you know -along side the already established recreational use of private aircraft excluding the rich/private jets.]
Anyway I just think that its pretty dang cool that you can now look back on this in history & be able to say, "yep, I was there to witness it begin to unfold first hand & was among the first to report on it"... -and to that i myself would like to add my own humble opinion; this being the best documentation done on this booming niche industry thus far! Always have loved your videos & how well they seem feed my ever increasing appetite for data but also some videos being responsible for even growing my curiosity & expanding my own point of view on certain topics! You never fail to deliver & for those things I am very grateful of you for.
Keep up the amazing work, will always be there to watch & support!
-Thanks again!!
So Crosscountry small aircraft are estimated to come in about 2 to 5 years, but how long is it until we get electric 747's and Airbusses?
Like he said, the main challenge is battery capacity. I'm not sure we could have solar panels to charge in-flight, they don't have that kind of electrical debit and even if they did, it would only be day flights, lol. So mainly battery issues, the quick fix is buy whatever Elon Musk builds :))
StormWarning Umm, maybe 20 years from now.
They will get it down in 20 years I'm sure. Maybe even 10
Boo ! I wouldn't count it out just yet.
Boo ! Okay.. how about 25000 feet? It was only a century ago when they said flight wasnt possible. Right now the range isn't useful and the speed is down but maybe they can make improvements that can help justify it
Fantastic. This channel looks like its exactly where fans want it to be. At the forefront of technology, exploring and reporting on the potential of new and innovative technology. Great job my friend! Very interesting video.
Correct me if I am wrong, I thought the plane would have arrived before the truck since you both left the airport at the same time
When I watch any channel headphones don't matter really but when I watch your videos I wait till I get home and get my surround sound headphones on for that amazing sound quality from your channel
You should definitely do a video on the latest non-lethal weapons!
ohh miss flying the light birds. How much fun these are and it's getting more inexpensive. Brilliant.
Electric vehicles is the future. We need to start takin care of our planet. Thanks for the video 🙏
Nuclear energy is the future, making electricity the dirty way won't help the planet one iota! Forget wind and solar, they will not be able to produce the energy required for our all-electric future.
INVESTING HUSTLER - Agreed. Too bad big Oil companies are trying to prevent this electric revelution.
Astrecks let's agree to disagree
I am passionate about the planet and humanity, but driving around in electric cars and aeroplanes won't help the planet unless you can produce the electricity needed to do so cleanly. Solar panels create a lot of toxic waste in their production and recycling. Wind turbines last 40 years on land and 25 years on the sea before they need replacing. I'm just asking people to see beyond the simple things.
Astrecks - Exacly.
That's unbelievably amazing. I'm as far from Perth as humanly possible (Canada), but I am stoked about the future of electric personal travel.
Fast electric car is made in Croatia and first certified electric plane is made in Slovenia. My country Croatia and neighbors Slovenia.
Mate Rimac and his Concept One and Two.
Hello, neighbour!
How about a friendly race, top gear style for promotional reasons :-) greetings from Slovenia
As a former (ageing) aeromodeller, I found the advances in battery technology, i.e. Lithium Polymer, made electric flying a practical alternative and the lighter weight was much easier on my back, but batteries were always removed from the aircraft and allowed to cool before recharging. An exchange of batteries on the ground might be the best way forward for this type of operation, but it would depend on aircraft manufacturers agreeing to share battery designs- dimensions, connection, etc. Very impressive and attractive aircraft, though, and I would love to fly it, but Perth is on the other side of the planet from me! Excellent Video
I think there's a point where planes with combustion engines are still the better alternative. Petrol has a much higher energy density than even the best commercially available lithium polymer batteries (34,2 MJ/L vs. 4,32 MJ/L). The energy in megajoules per kilogram puts li-po batteries at an even biger disadvantage (46,4 MJ/kg vs. 1,8 MJ/kg).
To achieve the same performance (range, speed and power) of a plane with a petrol engine, an electric plane would have to carry more batteries, which would weigh more, slowing the plane down, forcing it to use more power and so on. It's the same problem with electric cars: An efficient car with a diesel engine can drive that distance with one tank. An electric car would have to tow an entire trailer full of batteries to do the same.
The day of electric vehicles will come when batteries start approaching the energy density levels of petrol or gasses like propane or butane. Electric motors are far more efficient than piston engines and are simpler to build and maintain (less moving parts, no need for oil and massive cooling solutions, etc.). But right now fossil fuels like petrol, diesel and LPG are still the dominant fuels. And never forget that the electricity for the batteries has to come from somewhere.
You need to consider that a combustion engine is at most 15 to 20% efficient compared to well over 90% for electric motor so while there is still a big difference is not as large as it look from your numbers. Also depending on altitude and amount of oxygen efficiency may get even worse for combustion engine while electric will not be affected by this.
This said with current cost of fuel vs battery a combustion engine will be more cost effective same is true for EV's when battery cost amortization is considered as it should be and not just the cost of electricity.
Cheapest electricity at this time is generated by solar PV panels. Starting this winter I heat my house 100% with solar PV because it is the lowest cost option even compared to natural gas. Of course to be cost effective energy storage for the heating part is done in thermal mass at least 20x lower cost amortization than best Lithium battery.
Just depends on your range requirements.
@Corristo89 - The difference in motor efficiency and weight of the motor makes that gap between electric and petrol much smaller though than just energy density between batteries and petrol leads one to believe. Won't be long till it gets good enough to replace ICE engines in more and more applications.
1. Electric cars are already viable with small compromises. Very few people actually *need* cars with long range, which is why makers of fuel cars often equip them with tiny fuel tanks.
2. Energy density isn't a problem for cars. The technology is already here to make EVs that can drive 800 miles on a charge without "towing an entire trailer full of batteries", the only barrier is cost.
3. Energy density is already at a point where electric cars can be fully practical, and light electric aircraft for short training flights are practical as well. For 1 hour training flights, this electric plane wins hands down.
Cost will drive this. Traditional Airplane engines are really expensive; they need lots of maintenance, have complex failing modes, and they are quite heavy too. Fuel is expensive too. So, electric is going to eat this market at the rate batteries and related technology improve. Right now it is kind of underwhelming but the next ten years are going to change that dramatically. The key point will be when most 2-3 hour flights are going to be possible using small airplanes at the fraction of the cost of current planes. At that point you will see mass deployment of cheap to manufacture and operate planes that will compete with cars in price point rather than with traditional short haul flight. That's a game changer.
Another factor here is noise. With electric planes, you can fly into areas that are currently restricted because of noise: like most populated areas that are interesting to fly to. Lots of small air fields across Europe have closed for this reason. Given that and the efficiency at short range, electric planes could revolutionize short hops in and around cities.
A Tesla takes about half a ton of battery and has 4x the capacity of what this plane takes; which is roughly what you'd need to get close to the range of e.g. a cessna 172 (about 4-5 hours). Basically with battery R&D being invested in heavily and several promising battery concepts that promise vast improvements in energy density, that is going to help a lot. Also, a cessna 172 carries an engine that weighs well over 100kg and burns through another 150kg or so of fuel. That's some useful battery capacity. Electrical engines are comparatively light. You can get 20kw engines under 10kg. And there's an announced 260KW engine that weighs about 50kg by Siemens.
There are all sort of thing you can do structurally to the plane to optimize it for electrical flight. For example, gliders only need power to get up and get a quite useful range once they are up. Electrical operates the same at high altitudes. So getting up to 30k feet in 20 minutes and then gliding to your destination is an entirely valid way to get from A to B. Especially if you can stop and restart the engine with essentially no risk.
Nice to see the Alpha Electro that's at my local airport, I've seen this exact Pipistrel on 2 occasions flying over areas around Mandurah, which is near Perth.
I guess we could order one of these online in the foreseeable future!
You can already, Pipistrel does sell them. Just need to have the cash.
I have been flying RC Airplanes and Helicopters for about 15 years now. All of them are electric brushless motors, they are as powerful and fast as most all of the gas/nitro planes at our field. I knew this was in the near future. Cool stuff!!
I wonder how graphene batteries would improve these airplanes
They would mainly lower maintenance costs and improve charging times, which is no small feat.
However what we are really waiting for (and rapidly getting closer to) are higher density batteries that can store many times the energy while also lowering the weight.
Raydeus It's quite unlikely, there are fundamental physical limits that prevent batteries from ever reaching the energy density of petrol. Liquid hydrogen is a more promising alternative.
maximkazhenkov11
"Raydeus It's quite unlikely, there are fundamental physical limits that prevent batteries from ever reaching the energy density of petrol. Liquid hydrogen is a more promising alternative."
Relative efficiency differences and simpler support systems, mean that batteries only need to be 30% as energy-dense as gasoline to meet weight- and range-equivalence with internal combustion engine powered vehicles. However, matching the energy density of petrol has been predicted by 2040 or sooner.
Less than 20% of the energy created by an IC engine gets converted into froward motion. An electric power-train can be 90% efficient.
Liquid hydrogen isn't a promising alternative because the hydrogen still has to be burnt in an extremely inefficient IC engine. Further more, burning hydrogen in an IC engine is even less efficient than petrol. Alternatively, hydrogen can be used in fuel cells, but unfortunately fuel cells are way behind in terms of development and require expensive catalysts to function, like platinum for example.
"Relative efficiency differences and simpler support systems, mean that batteries only need to be 30% as energy-dense as gasoline"
30% is a tall order, currently it's more like *two orders of magnitude* difference between batteries and gasoline.
"However, matching the energy density of petrol has been predicted by 2040 or sooner."
What prediction would that be? Please don't tell me it's exponential extrapolation because that's how you get predictions like 500% efficient solar panels.
"Less than 20% of the energy created by an IC engine gets converted into froward motion. An electric power-train can be 90% efficient."
That might be true with cars and trains, which is why I'm totally on board with electric cars. But airplanes is a different story, there is no reaction mass you can easily push against, and it makes no difference in efficiency whether you heat air through combustion or electricity. Worse yet, unlike cars, airplanes are almost exclusively used for ultra-long distance travels so range matters *a lot* . I hope you realize this video is about electric airplanes?
maximkazhenkov11
"30% is a tall order,"
Expected between 2020 -2025.
"What prediction would that be? Please don't tell me it's exponential extrapolation because that's how you get predictions like 500% efficient solar panels."
www.autoguide.com/auto-news/2016/05/battery-energy-density-to-equal-gasoline-by-2045-report.html
"But airplanes is a different story, there is no reaction mass you can easily push against, and it makes no difference in efficiency whether you heat air through combustion or electricity."
You don't push against reaction mass. For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. Pushing against something isn't required. You aren't heating air, props push air backward. See Newton's third law.
"Worse yet, unlike cars, airplanes are almost exclusively used for ultra-long distance travels so range matters a lot "
No, not almost exclusively for ultra long flights. There are a multitude of short-haul routes. A couple of years ago, at EGLL (Heathrow) there were so many short-haul flights there were issues with clogged taxi ways. Then we have a plethora of private aircraft, many flights schools, air taxi's, etc. In Japan they even use 747's for ultra short flights of one hour.
"I hope you realize this video is about electric airplanes?"
Yes, and the future is bright for EV aircraft. As we speak Airbus Siemens and Rolls Royce have joined forces to develop a hybrid aircraft. A number of other companies are also working on the tech. So I see aviation going the same route as cars. Hybrid first, and as battery tech improves more and more all electric power trains.
And in terms of batter tech, there are some exciting technologist in the lab as we speak. A company called Kilowatt Labs say they have super capacitor technology that has the same energy density as lithium ion and the same form factor, but it charges in a matter of seconds. Then we have Gold nanowire batteries, Solid state lithium-ion, Grabat graphene batteries, Laser-made microsupercapacitors, Foam batteries, Aluminium-air batteries, Sodium-ion batteries, and on and on. All of which offer advantages over current tech.
One of the most exciting developments is the Toshiba Super Charge ion Battery that will have three times the range of current batteries and charge in six minutes. So the range in terms of the aircraft in the video would be more akin to 3 hours with the advantage of super fast charging.
So already, even as we speak, significantly improved batteries are almost upon us. So now project forward ten years and consider what sort of battery tech we will have then, at this rate of development.
Holy crap this is gold for skydiving! Short burst small aircraft constantly landing and taking off again. It might make the sport more financially bearable in the long run! Awesome!
The *electric aircraft* will make travel faster, cheaper and safer.
We can be happy about that, on top of the cleaner air for all of us !
but the chemtrail people sad they will lose their conspiracy
Smh 🤦♀️ we already fucked up the air, there is no going back
Where does the electric power to charge batteries come from? It's just moving the emissions from the tailpipe to the chimney of a power plant.
Golden brother....can't say I have heard about them "sun and wibd powerplants". Have you heard about solar plants and wind turbines?
i guess im randomly asking but does anybody know of a way to log back into an instagram account??
I stupidly lost the password. I would love any tips you can give me.
Thanks for the video. One thing I disagree with though is the way people will say things like "suitable technology to extend flight time is years away." As a scientist, inventor, and researcher myself I know how ludicrous and potentially discouraging such statements are. Innovation can take place in the twinkling of an eye! Instead simply state positive comments like "We are looking forward to innovations that will increase flight time and welcome your ideas!"
God bless and be well!
Extremely interesting analysis. One question: how can this be called a "cross-country" flight when it only went 65km? Last I checked, Australia was considerably wider than that... ;)
Depends which country... If you fly 65 KM across, say, the UK, it'd be a cross-country flight, but if it's Australia, then it isn't.
Since this video took place in Australia, I didn't think that had to be specified. If I'm in the U.S. and I take a cross-country flight, I'm not measuring it against Haiti.
Yeah, if you can't even fly my commute to and from work, its not really a cross country flight imho.
Cross country in pilot training means flying from one airport to another airport. It doesn’t mean you have to fly across a country.
Good to know, even if a bit misleading. Thanks for clarifying.
Nice!
My local floatplane company Harbour Air (vancouver) is converting a DaHavilland Beaver into an electric air taxi, using a magnix powerplant
I was sure you guys were going to just swap out the batteries for the return trip.
Jay Starr - Yes. That would have been smarter... But I don't think they have an exstra.
Indeed, and with all the sunshine you get down under makes sense to have standardised batteries being charged up on solar and ready to swap for depleted ones at airfields. They should go this way with cars too but car companies all started to design their own batteries.
THey have to make a plane with swap batteries first. Best idea.
Would be the easier test, but this is more real world conditions if you need to land somewhere in an emergency and someone else to lend a hand.
That plane already has swappable batteries. Part of the concept of using it as a trainer is you don't have to refuel, you just land, swap the batteries and it's ready for another student. You can let the batteries charge overnight.
So cool how they unbox the plane to put it together like a jigsaw puzzle. Too neat.
Pipistrel is an innovative company. Your comparison to the cessna 172 (4place) isn't realistic, a 152, tomahawk, diamond da 20 or a Pipistrel virus would be a better comparison as they're all 2 place. Therefore $3/hr vs $30/hr isn't related and thr upfront cost of this plane vs a used unit suitable for training is a better option. This is novel but electric powered aircraft operate in a very restricted use box.
plus you cant use the thing for an hour after a flight because it needs to recharge. no school would buy this thing.
There is one of these in Helsinki, Finland. This is the future of aviation.
9:05 yeah right, your airport is a grass field but let's say there is NOWHERE TO LAND in between.
you may be able to land in some random field but it has not been cleared for rocks or other small but deadly obstacles such as a childs tricycle hidding in deeper grass being hit at 140 kmh would be the end of that aircraft
In an Emergency , Anywhere , they can Pull a Big Lever and land via a Parachute Sysrem ! I believe that All of these Electric Aeroplanes are Fitted with Parachutes !
It's about time. So good to see. Good luck battlein the petrol industry.
I saw u on howtobasic face reveal 😂
Whoops.
He IS howtobasic.
pls reply with the timestamp
ruclips.net/video/JSXGagNzNLw/видео.htmlm58s
that will take u to the specific part ^^
wow, thank you
From day 1, no one made better quality videos than ColdFusion! No argument.
"cross country"
KR!RK aviation term. Not literally crossing a country.
KR!RK you could fly over Liechtenstein or the Vatican
"Cross country" in aviation applies whenever you are more than 10nm from home and not in a training area.
Correction: "cross county"
Cross country has different meanings depending on the context. In some cases it just means going to any different airport.
Two things that are hard when learning to fly is hearing the flight instructor and understanding what they are saying on the radio. Quiet is good.
Wait a sec here...70 kms is “cross country”??
in Monaco it even counts as international
Its awesome, finally a practical break through in flight tech that will catapult more interest and versatility. a mini Lear jet next would be nice
When you‘re slovenian and you hear about pipistrel ❤️
Question, is it possible to visit this company? I want to learn about the technology
Really excited about the possibilities of this technology. Once it's in real-world use like this, there's a good chance it will advance even faster.
2:00 the most important part of all... phone charger
I love this plane and I'm not taking anything away from it at all. It's great. The problem is with battery tech. A really good battery improvement is ALWAYS 5 years away. The horizon that ever recedes. All good wishes!
Tip for ColdFusion : Do not use this type of 'conspiracy-theory', clickbait-like titles ("The Truth About ..."). I almost did not watch the video.
But you did watch....:)
@@noapology88 -- Yes, that is my point: I did watch, but I almost did not watch because of the type of title that I usually avoid. That would have been a shame because the video contents were good. Thus my tip to ColdFusion is to not use this style of titles.
@@tubularap i don't think it's a clickbait title, its more of following his style
@@anilkmr458 - I've seen this type of title many times, also on this channel. That is why I emphesized that that type of title can be offputting to people, like me.
Someone using a title with "the truth" is always clickbaiting, even with the best intentions.
I really appreciate you not hiding the limitations of the plane. I figured that the plane may be too light ironically.
A diesel generator to charge up an electric aeroplane oh the irony Tesla did the same thing when they tried to drive the Roadster across Europe they just didn't tell anybody
except then Tesla built superchargers across the world
True but then wiring a flying plane at 30.000 feet travelling at mach 0.8 to an Tesla supercharger is well............. kinda hard to pull off
I can see graphene capacitors being added for short top rpm moments like take off. That'll help with range no end.
Elon Musk should make this thing commercial
Ejuice its not Elon Musks plane.
he could make one tho.
Making a rocket is way harder
erikpoephoofd that's what I mean
busy playing with non-electric rockets
Elon Musk doesn't have to do everything for everybody. There are other clever, determined people on the planet.
Pretty cool format. You should do more of these "mini reports" actually visting the companies
You are using a fuel powered generator to recharge a electric plane? This is even worse than to use a fuel powered plane instead. This is a big marketing fail. Anyway, the plane is brilliant. Keep on going to promote it. (without making use of any fuel please ;-)
I feel like their motive is more for the comfort of the user and not being more environmentally friendly. An electric motor will operate smoother than a gas powered engine. So if you have a low power engine that creates little vibration and a high powered electric motor that is powered by the engine, then the ride will be smoother than a big gas engine powering the plane. It could also create cheaper costs for flight, as you would use less fuel (note: Prius, very cost effective and efficient, but lacking in style). Let's say you have a normal plane that burns 10 g/h, and a hybrid plane that burns 2 g/h, the hybrid plane would obviously cost less in fuel as it less fuel.
This is absolutely brilliant!!!
So cool to have stuff like this happening in Perth too!!!
Great video!
Thanks
Plane is honestly beautiful But you cant actualy go nowhere as range is low..Pity
Its meant for flight training and short flights
Can avoid the breath test on the way home from the pub .
He! Wow i didn't even notice your popularity lately.. Last time i commented is said, keep it up you will rise if you do! Congratulations on your well deserved recognition. Have a good one!
Coldfusion=likes
was just casually searching for videos on electric airplanes, found this gem and was thinking to myself: "Why havent i heard of this yet?!" holy crap this video was uploaded just a day ago!
Elon musk of planes?
Austin Webb - Imagine if they partnered up 😆
Austin Webb
Maybe he'll make planes that can land.
Austin Webb Pipistrel's owner is Ivo Boscarol
Didn't know that, thanks Jakob!
Well not Musk but.....Tesla namely real Nikola Tesla was born less than 100 mile SSE from born place of this Alpha Pipistrel and his first payed job was approx 100 mile E from pipistrel factory
Awesome work man. Keep it up. Great video and content.
Here's wishing this company and others like it all the best for paving the future. Its not easy being a leader
Charging with diesel generator hahaha
A farmer could have an electric plane and solar cells and a big wind turbine to charge the plane.
That is too expensive for farmers ^^ everything look nice and fancy
It's competitive on price with a lot of other light aircraft, it just looks flash because it wasn't designed in the 1950s
Ah, no it isn't. Not to mention that farmers using planes for fence and stock inspection don't need to fly for more than an hour so they will save on maintenance compared to a combustion engine, not to mention much less chance of engine failure in flight.
You don't know what you are talking about.
Pipistrel have solar chargers.
even the best (read: insanely expensive and hard to produce) batteries using current technology have 15% of the energy density of liquid fuel. a typical battery has around 10%. for cars and ships that is not a huge deal, but electric planes just arent economically viable, and wont be for the foreseeable future.
also, battery production is a fairly dirty process that relies on non-renewable materials. more sustainable long-term fuels for aircraft would be hydrogen (2x the energy density of the best batteries) and nuclear (>1000x the energy density of liquid fuel).
Rob Loney There are no facts in the comment. Does not even know the basics of lithium ion production. Producing anode and cathode material is just large scale industrial cooking. There is nothing dirty about it. They even make sure mixing is done in a sealed room because water vapor ruins the production. Lithium is also extracted from lithium rich salt making mining it very clean you just need to pump brine and solar evaporate it in a brine pool.
its wonderful that you think you can just leave some salt in the sun and get batteries, but reality is a bit more complicated. first, large scale battery production is shifting to industrial lithium mining, not evaporation pools. second, lithium is just one of the ingredients of lithium batteries. you also need graphite, cobalt, nickel, etc., often extracted in 3rd world countries, and causing serious water contamination.
its great to use a rechargeable battery and pat yourself in the back thinking "oohh... im such an environmentalist", forgetting (or pretending to forget) the cost of producing the battery, the cost of producing the energy that is used to charge the battery, and the cost of disposing of the battery after the end of its useful life.
anyway, for aviation, the fundamental issue is simply low energy density. lithium batteries weigh 2x as much as the equivalent (energy) amount of hydrogen, and 10x more than the equivalent (energy) amount of gasoline / kerosene. also, even after they are discharged, you are still carrying that weight, so you actually need _more_ energy to cover the same distance.
Jim Steinbrecher - And refining oil and burning it is such a clean process....
are you stating that as a fact? if so, you are as confused about fossil fuels as some are about battery production.
What's your point? Is it that fossil fuels don't cause pollution? If so you're a dreamer.
I live about 10 minutes from Janakot Airport and even worked at Perth Airport and never heard about this. Pretty cool!
I love the concepts of electric planes are really interesting but I think your being a little dishonest regarding maintenance costs what will be passed on to learning pilots. the motor and definitely the battery will have an operational service hour limit and those are not cheap parts. no mention on how long the service intervals or MTBF would be...
Dana Vixen The motor won’t be an issue over the life of the aircraft really. And even if it is, a replacement will be far cheaper and easier to install than a regular engine.
Well simply on account of initial costs you would want to make up that money in hourly charges even if the fuel isn't as much.
the future of cleaner environment is making its way guys..cheers
That V8 engine at 1:53 certainly looks super cool. It looks like a Chevy Corvette engine. It's an underhead camshaft engine. Bet that airplane sounds awesome.
Funny, I just finished writing a paper and doing a presentation on this subject last week for my Aviation Senior Seminar class. It's great to see these aircraft actually flying, and I hope this technology continues to advance. But like you said, the charging infrastructure needs to be put in place before these aircraft will be practical in the wider aviation industry.
A very interestingly video, the challenge part really highlights the problems we have right now.
Very good
10:29 "I see longer flight applications 2-5 years away." Any update?? Awesome video thanks
Changing the name from ColdFustion to ColdFusion actually worked ! :D
Great entry bird. Even piston powered Virus kicks ass in UL category.
As a Slovenian, im proud of the stuff we have
If there is some room for space customization then low-mid budget film makers may take interest in using it for shooting scenes. Nice to see it happening.