On May 25, 1994, my wife, Deb, and I departed from Spokane, Washington (KGEG) and flew non-stop in our Beech Baron to Grand Forks, North Dakota (KGFK).
SkyVector reminds me that leg is 822 nautical miles. We covered that distance in 5.1 hours, according to my logbook.
As of Jan. 8, 2025, I’m not aware of any electric aircraft that can fly the same route non-stop.
According to eVTOL News, the Joby has a max cruise speed of 200 mph, a range of 100 miles (including energy reserves), and a 1,000 pound max payload.
And BETA Technologies states its ALIA CX300 CTOL, an all-electric aircraft, has a max cruise speed of 135 knots, a range of 336 nm, and 1,000-1,400 pound max payload (depending on interior configuration).
Archer Aviation’s Midnight will cruise at 150 mph for 20 to 50 miles, per eVTOL News and have a max payload of 1,000 pounds.
I’ve read many comments from readers critical of electric aircraft. They often cite the lack of energy per pound of battery compared to a pound of 100LL as a huge challenge.
And they’re right. 100LL packs a lot more energy per pound than a battery. And that’s just one argument against our new-ish powered lift siblings.
But is that a reason to believe electric aircraft don’t have a future? Any future?
A ground-bound parallel
In 1930 Alexander Winton wrote an entertaining story for the Saturday Evening Post about his reflections on his time as the automobile first came into existence.
“To advocate replacing the horse, which had served man through centuries, marked one as an imbecile. Things are very different today. But in the 1890s, even though I had a successful bicycle business, and was building my first car in the privacy of the cellar in my home, I began to be pointed out as ‘the fool who is fiddling with a buggy that will run without being hitched to a horse.’ My banker called on me to say: ‘Winton, I am disappointed in you.’”
Or this, via DangerousMinds.com, “According to Horatio’s Drive, a 2003 PBS documentary by Ken Burns, Vermont passed a law requiring a person to walk in front of the car waving a red flag, which rather defeated the purpose of using the car in the first place. In Glencoe, Illinois, someone stretched a length of steel cable across a road in an effort to stop ‘the devil wagons.’ Some cities banned automobiles outright.”
We all know how the automobile story ultimately turned out.
What’s your mission?
Many years ago I enjoyed a long and winding conversation with a recruiter from Empire Airlines. We were exhibit neighbors at the Arlington Fly-In in Washington. It was a slow Sunday and we discussed the lifestyle and perks of being an Empire pilot.
I’ve thought of that conversation many times over the years.
Assuming operations are the same, Empire pilots depart Sea-Tac International Airport (KSEA) in a company Cessna Caravan in the morning and fly to one of five Puget Sound-area airports and check into a hotel until they fly back to KSEA in the afternoon. At that point, their day is done. Two legs. One out, one back.
Not one of the five airports are more than 100 nm from KSEA. The furthest is Bellingham (KBLI) at 81.1 nm. Via road, KSEA to KBLI is 107 miles and more than two hours (if you don’t hit traffic).
From the Cessna website, the Caravan boasts a 186 ktas max cruise speed, a 1,070 nm max range, and a full fuel payload of 1,081 pounds. The benefit of a Caravan, in this case, is if you want to carry more load, don’t fill the fuel tanks. The Caravan has max payload of 3,070 pounds. But you won’t likely get very far. Plus, you’ll benefit from decades of experience and thousands (3,000 as of early 2023) of airframes in the fleet, both of which count for a lot.
Depending on the average payload, the profile of the Empire KSEA route structure meets the ALIA 250’s mission pretty well. Short flight followed by a lot of time on the ground. Perfect for charging the batteries.
But that is commercial aviation, not personal aviation.
If I only needed to fly 80 to 100 miles and carry 1,000 pounds (or less) of payload, I might seriously consider an electric aircraft.
Alas, that doesn’t fit my mission. But it doesn’t mean it won’t work.
