Alice: the Electric Regional Airliner

[WmInce]

 

[coppercity]

The "Tri motor" returns!!   

Maybe I can finally put all my tailwheel time to work

[WmInce]

Good one, Eric!  h h 

[EB3]

I've been looking for something like this in which to invest my life's savings! 

[WmInce]

2 hours ago, EB3 said:

I've been looking for something like this in which to invest my life's savings! 

A trip to Vegas may be a better investment.

It was once said, "there's a lot of money in aviation . . . because a lot of pilot's left it there." 

[Mike Koerner]

First of all, I think this is an exciting aircraft with great potential. The specs are certainly impressive and the funding claims and supporting organizations all the more so.

But I think there is a bit of an error in this video, or at least the potential for misinterpretation. Differential thrust at the tips will certainly help prevent weather-vaning during taxi and roll-out, but does not address the more important issue in crosswind landings with a taildragger - ground loop on touchdown. If the aircraft's longitudinal axis is not aligned with the direction of travel when the wheels touch, the lateral load on the main gear, acting in front of the cg, will try to throw the tail out in front. As anyone who has ground-looped and aircraft can tell you, this instantaneous reaction can easily overwhelm any rudder application and, I have no doubt, differential thrust as well.

In a crosswind landing this aircraft offers the same choices as any other: either lower the upwind wing and sideslip to maintain both ground track and longitudinal direction; or crab into the wind to maintain ground track and then "kick-out" to align the aircraft with the ground track just before touchdown, using the aircraft's inertia to maintain the ground track momentarily; or some combination of the two.

I'm sorry Eviation chose a tailwheel configuration. I don't see an advantage to this unless they intend to land in the rough, which the size of main gear belies.

Mike Koerner

[FlyingMonkey]

Agree Mike.  Tailwheel is a weird choice here...I'm guessing it was done to save the weight of the nose gear.  I also think Li-ion batteries are a poor choice, considering their potential for thermal runaway, overheating, and fires.  Li-Fe would be a better battery choice, again I suspect that weight was the driving factor here.

I'm also skeptical of the "1hr 10min full recharge" spec...that is significantly better than other electric vehicles can achieve, which makes me question what this small airplane company figured out that Ford, GM, Tesla, etc couldn't. 

[coppercity]

Seems like the conventional gear choice may have been a result of the pusher prop that could contact the ground if over rotated with a tricycle gear.

[Mike Koerner]

Whatever the reason for the original selection (see photo in original post) they seem to have changed to a tricycle gear now.

Perhaps a ventral fin can be added to protect the tail pusher from over rotation?

Even with the added weight of such a fin and the nose gear, this is a better, safer design. And it will be easier to certify for commercial passenger flights.

Too bad about the fire.

Mike Koerner

[WmInce]

Looks like a "smooth lander."

[AGLyme]

re the tailwheel, lots of battery space (and weight) required up front, see vid @ 1.57 mins.  Speaking of batteries, that's the whole point and last great mystery in all electric motor transportation.  Ships and Trains can carry their own power source.  Cars and Planes - it's harder.  Battery scale is unbelievably difficult, it is the perfect balance of Chem, Electrical and Mechanical Engineering.  Not there yet.  The motors are ready.

Without a battery solution, there is no scalable airline solution... unless 20-30 minute flights are day in day out runs, such as Cape Air's Hyannis to Mahhthaaas Vineyard.