Why not electric motors to power airplanes?

Question

I caught part of a show regarding non-conventional automobile fuels, including fuel cells, high powered electric cars (very fast and quiet), hydrogen, and very high mileage/high powered vehicles (e.g. 140 MPG with lots of horses). After listening to this for a few minutes, it seems like electric motors have something to offer to aviation. Thanks

Answer 1

i really dont see jet propulsion coming out of an electrical application.  now possibly electro magnetic force (voltage) could move you , but not at the speed of sound.

Answer 2

to many horsesasses makin da money from oil

Answer 3

they actualy made a plane that ran on solar power i think it circaled the world once but it was extreamly slow so i think there will eventualy be electric powered planes but right now we just dont have the technology

check my source for a pic

Answer 4

THE TURBINES USED TO POWER AIR CRAFTS ARE SOME WHAT MARVELS, TO GET THE AMOUNT OF POWER GENERATED BY ONE OUT OF AN ELECTRIC MOTOR IT WOULD HAVE TO BE 3 OR 4 TIMES THE SIZE AND BECAUSE OF THE COPPER WINDINGS WOULD BE 5 OR 6 TIMES HEAVIER,

ALSO THE PLANE WOULD NEED TO GENERATE HUGE AMOUNTS OF POWER TO GET THEM TO DO ANYTHING

IT COULD ALSO BE VERY DANGEROUS IF THE INSULATION ON THE WINDINGS GAVE INAT 30 000 FT IT WOULD CERTAINLY BE THE END OF THE PLANE,#

ALL IN ALL A GOOD IDEA BUT LEAVE IT AT THAT,

REMEMBER AN ENGINE FROME YOUR CAR AND A TURBINE ON A PLANE ARE TOTTALLY DIFFERENT ITS MORE LIKE A TURBO CHAGER,

Answer 5

Do you know of an electric Motor that can produce up to 75,000 IBs of thrust on a  jet ? I dont !

Answer 6

because the batteries are too heavy

Answer 7

Where would you put the batteries?  Power to weight ratio is too low.

Answer 8

They tried electric airplanes, but the batteries kept going dead, and the extension cords kept getting pulled out of the sockets.

Those automotive applications of electric power can only run for a few miles before they have to pull over and recharge their batteries.  An airplane can't do that. Please explain how you are going to power an electric airplane with today's technology.

Answer 9

I am with you,Why not? Think...  no more pollution,or noise, and if the plain crush no more burning people, and more survivors 4 sure.

It is all about how do we make $$$ and how do we replace the commodity of the oil barrel. One good way to be free from all this gangsters who want to rule the world will see, i hope we make the change.

Answer 10

There are some experiments going on in the background with electric power as a lab curiosity, but in practical terms, weight will make electric power impractical for airplanes for the foreseeable future.

Answer 11

It's been done multiple times, but with small experimental planes, and it may be a long time before it would be feasable for even general aviation aircraft, much less airliners. The biggest problem seems to be range. And it would likely take longer to recharge the batteries safely then it does to refuel a conventional airplane. (It can take an hour to an hour and a half to recharge the Lithium Polymer batteries often used in electric R/C Airplanes. There are also a lot of other potential hazards when dealing with multiple cell lithium based batteries.)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electric_ai...

Intentional overcharge of an R/C Lithium Polymer battery:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gboge17PN...

Improvements in electrical storage technology might make electric airliners more feasable in the future.

Answer 12

There  is an experimental aircraft that does use electric motors. It is  a combination  (as I understand it) of a blimp air-foiled aircraft. It  has  the record for sustained flight. The wings are  "inflated" and carry a massive array of solar panels to provide electricity to recharge the batteries.

It is  slow but works.

Answer 13

Good Question.

If you would like to see an electric airplane, go to the link below. It is from EAA AirVenture 2007 at Oshkosh, Wisconsin.  If you like experimental aircraft and stuff like that, check out the EAA site.  

Leary to fly - It is fun!

Answer 14

The main issue why electric motors are not used in planes is weight.  The batteries would consume far more weight than the payload.  It would be uneconomical.

Answer 15

right now:

not enough power, and the batteries would be too heavy.

although as technology advances I wouldn't rule out the possibility.

Answer 16

The ultimate killer is the power to weight ratio. The 'motor' produces so little power compared to its weight and the weight of the fuel that it has to lift into the air there would be no point in doing it.

Piston engines have very good and gas-turbines have immensely good power to weight ratios that's why they are used in aviation. Steam engines and other external combustion engines do have formidable p:w ratios too but the weight of the 'gear' boilers and water, in the case of steam make them unsuitable.

Answer 17

if an electric car runs out of juice it just rolls to a stop

Answer 18

battery weight and capacity are limiting factors, also recharge times.

Answer 19

Energy density

But, some of the long duration ROVs do run on solar cells and electric motors.

Lots of RC planes running electric, but short duration flights.

Answer 20

Keep in mind large aircraft require a LOT of thrust to fly.  Electric motors (and specifically the batteries or cells) that offer that kind of power would be uneconomically heavy with todays technology.  They also may not be reliable over long distances, or may take an exceedingly long time to charge.  

I agree alternate fuel sources and electric motors are definitely something beneficial to research (which is occurring) but I wouldn't feel comfortable flying with an electric motor until I was sure they were reliable, and there are still the issues of weight and charging time.  Furthermore, a lot of things in aviation are difficult to change on grand scales due to strict FAA regulations.