No it's not version 1, this is the second or third iteration by Pipistrel. The naive are dreaming if they think aviation can be electrified anytime in the foreseeable future. Some novelties perhaps, but you can't get around the energy density of fuels vs batteries, or the power to weight ratio of turbofan engines for real commercial flight. Or the spontaneous combustion of lithium batteries with even a teensy fender bender in cars, which translates to a moderately hard landing of a plane in terms of g force. Insurers are declining to insure electric cars because a 5 MPH accident has to write off the vehicle because repair or replacing the batteries is so costly. And there are not enough raw resources to electrify even a few percent of the global transportation market, in terms of Li Cu, Co, and various other elements.

(Written on 11/04/2023)(Permalink)

No, if you want a more grounded analysis watch this review by AVweb: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QiNtLBLveeM&t=373s (Pipistrel Velis Electro: Cool, But Not For The U S Market) Paul gets into the real details of this novelty and points out it's drawbacks do not lend itself to general aviation. It is an ultralight, and learning on this does not translate to other aircraft, you cannot do cross country, but worst of all with an FAA mandated 30 minute reserve, you have 15-20 minutes of flying time on a battery charge! (hence why you cannot do cross country) In Europe they have special permission to fly with a 10 minute reserve, if they stay within 5 miles of the airport. It has less load capacity than the gasoline powered airframe of the same type and the gas powered has 5+ hours on full fuel with a 30 minute reserve. Electrification of aviation is a wish and a prayer, for many reasons, but primarily due to the energy density of batteries vs hydrocarbon fuel. Not only tha

(Written on 11/04/2023)(Permalink)

Yeah what's the old joke about a Citation? It's a "NearJet".... But can Cessna even produce 8-10 jets a month? And if you are paying many thousands of dollars per hour to charter a bizjet, you do not want a mere "taxi" like a Honda or Toyota mini van, you want a Bentley or a Mercedes SUV. Gulfstream is still the real bizjet in my view. Even a decades old GIV is superior to any Cessna.

(Written on 09/23/2023)(Permalink)

Actually that crash was a direct result of the FAA mandated training at the time. Nothing to do with total time, or fatigue. and the FAA training guidelines for stall recovery were quietly changed after that so as not to bring attention to the real cause being asinine rules by FAA idiots. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DKX3CtMD4Ao&t=912s (The Big Lie: Colgan 3407) Dan Gryder shows the evidence of the pre Colgan 3407 flight training vs after on stall recovery. The captain pulled back when the stick shaker activated as he pushed throttles forward. Because his training said you cannot loose more than 100 feet in a stall recovery. So to pass check rides this is what you did. After this accident, the rules changed and the stall recovery was to push nose over and increase speed, and decrease AoA, irrespective of how much altitude you loose. That and the FO retracting flaps in the stall, are what caused this, not fatigue or number of hours flown. The FAA kept quiet about th

(Written on 07/22/2023)(Permalink)

Well it is specific to each aircraft type, but generally you must have from 600 to 1,000 feet AGL to execute "the impossible turn" back to the runway. Otherwise push the nose over to maintain sufficient speed above stall and land straight ahead or 10 deg right or left of your track. A look at this field in Google Earth and he had plenty of good choices for a forced landing - so it was lack of skill/practice of forced approaches that caused the crash instead of a decent landing. And I call bullchips on the NTSB saying a blocked vent in the wrong cap caused the engine failure. They do not even go to these small accidents - they either decline to find a probable cause or make one up. But logically if the tank vent were blocked running the engine for under 10 minutes would NOT cause fuel starvation from no tank venting!!!! C'mon people, gasoline evaporates readily, and the cold fuel going into warmer wing tanks is going to make vapor as the fluid level drops and creates a partial

(Written on 05/27/2023)(Permalink)

It's a pipe dream solution to a non existent problem. Batteries are 15 times less energy density as Jet Fuel. And gaseous hydrogen is around 9-10 times less energy density as Jet Fuel. This when you consider the volumetric density of the compressed hydrogen and the weight of the tanks. And the reason it's a non existent problem is the CO2 warming hoax is revealed in the following papers showing the warming of CO2 is 1,000 to 2,000 times less than natural water cycles: https://notrickszone.com/2023/05/04/new-study-climate-models-have-uncertainties-errors-over-100x-larger-than-claimed-drivers-of-warming/

(Written on 05/06/2023)(Permalink)

Well for a reasoned and thoughtful analysis see Blancolirio's post: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oc_71HNJZhU (NTSB Preliminary N300ER Challenger 300 Dana Hyde) It was not turbulence, but appears to be pilot error resulting in a series of abrupt pitch up/down moves, with +4.2 g and -2.3 g accelerations. The pitch up/down could easily snap the neck of someone, even if seatbelt was on. (basal skull fracture like Dale Earnhart)

(Written on 04/02/2023)(Permalink)

Boeing aircraft have cup holders too! the 737 has them on the outboard side of each cockpit seat. See this video of a 737, time 7:40 to 8:20: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5-Y1F3Vpy0w (Boeing 737 Cockpit secrets!)

(Written on 03/26/2023)(Permalink)

She is the queen of the skies! I had the privilege of flying on one as my first airline experience back in 1977. A group of 234 of us chartered passage on PanAm flight number 1 around the world, as we were going from Toronto to Delhi. But on the day of departure, there was an ATC strike in Canada, so we were bussed from Toronto to Niagara Falls NY, where the FAA had to give special permission to land a 747 there. It took about 3 hours to hand load our baggage as no facilities for a 747 were at that airport. So we were boarded and 3 of us had just gotten our pilot's licenses and we asked the captain if we could have a tour of the flight deck. He was generous and gave us the tour and we chit chatted some while waiting for the baggage. Then we were all told to sit as far forward as possible, and I got to being in 1st class, and wow, he did a short field take off - clamping the brakes and getting engines up to full power - and then release - you were slammed back into the seat an

(Written on 02/25/2023)(Permalink)

There is nothing new about using long slender wings for greater efficiency. Gulfstream has been doing this for decades on it's still top of the line business jets. Their L/D ratios are superior to Boeing airliners and performance is top notch. But to be self supporting with a lot more fuel in the wings, and/or with lighter composite materials, then you need a strut for a high wing design and of course the 3 ton engines are out there too. And of course gliders use high aspect ratio wings too, but without sweep, this limits the speed. Don't you just love it when someone reinvents the wheel with taxpayer dollars and calls it new and innovative?

(Written on 01/28/2023)(Permalink)