At 1000-1500km range for short haul, it’s not easy and can’t be done just by drop-in replacement with existing airframes, but with clean sheet designs, it is feasible. Especially as lithium metal electrode and lithium sulfur becomes available. In fact, it may be feasible to do up to 4000km range eventually (big challenge, but feasible given state of the art aerodynamics and improved structure and battery… and definitely possible with out of the box thinking, as a crewed solar-electric aircraft has demonstrated a flight of nearly 9000km, ie from Japan to Hawaii).
> At 1000-1500km range for short haul, it’s not easy and can’t be done just by drop-in replacement with existing airframes, but with clean sheet designs, it is feasible.
If it can be made cheaper than the California High Speed Rail, I've got a market for you right here...
Indeed. The eFlyer 800 by Bye Aerospace, 925km range (at max payload) at over 320mph cruise, would be faster than the 200mph Cali HSR project that would’ve been at most 850km in phase 1 (and that would’ve been multiple hops most likely).
Yes. The capital cost is only slightly higher for 30 eFlyer 800s vs 1 new 737, but the operating cost is much lower. eFlyers are more flexible as they can operate at small rural and suburban airports that wouldn't be economically viable with large aircraft, and this also enables much less time spent in airport terminals as smaller airports are MUCH faster to get through compared to large airports like LAX. We're talking like 15 minutes vs an hour.
I'm shocked and happily surprised at the same time.