✈️ The Business of Electric Planes ✈️
🍀 The Business of Electric Planes ✈️
You’re not alone if you have had questions like:
How do Electric Planes Work?
When am I going to have a flying car?
Are we going to have a traffic jam in the air?
Can we use Solar to charge the batteries mid-air?
Will all planes go Electric like how cars are?
Joby Aircraft (Batteries are installed under the rotors)
In this edition, we will cover the following topics:
Invention of Electric Propulsion
Why do we need Electric Planes?
Key Players leading electric planes
Hurdles for the industry
Firstly, let's talk about why there's a push towards electric planes to begin with.
The aviation sector was responsible for approximately 2.5% of global emissions, with projections indicating an annual growth. Over the past ten years, there’s been a sizable transition happening towards electric and hydrogen-powered aircraft.
Electric Planes > Fuel-Burning Planes
Electric planes produce zero emissions at the point of use, and when charged using electricity from renewable sources, their carbon footprint is negligible
Secondly, Electric airplanes generate significantly less noise. This can be beneficial in air taxis for transporting people in cities with high traffic.
Lastly, eVTOLs don’t require a huge runway to take off and some of them can take off vertically (like a helicopter) making them accessible to remote areas.
Brief History ✈️
The invention of electric planes dates back to the early 19th century when pioneers began experimenting with electric propulsion.
The first known electrically powered flight was by Fred Militky and Heino Brditschk in 1973 in a modified MB-E1.
First manned electric aircraft: Militky MB-E1
Since then, the electric flight has evolved significantly especially due to the cost of batteries decreasing by an order of magnitude.
How do Electric planes work in theory?
Its core principle is converting electrical energy into mechanical energy. Electric motors use the electricity stored in batteries to spin propellers, generating the thrust to move forward.
Rolls Royce ground testing the world’s fastest electric planes
For many years, the weight of batteries outweighed the benefits of electric propulsion.
However, batteries have become cheaper and store more energy now.
But we are no way near replacing big commercial jets.
However electric vehicles have found utility in other areas like transporting humans from Newark to New York or replacing trucks with small cargo planes that fly autonomously.
Who’s leading in the Electric Planes race?
Joby Aviation, Archer, Lilium, Vertical Aerospace, and Beta Technologies are leading the pack with some serious investment dollars.jo
Joby Aviation, rooted in Santa Cruz, California, has made significant strides with investments from giants like Toyota and a hefty defense contract.
Their electric planes which can take off vertically, are 1000 times quieter than helicopters and also extremely sturdy.
Noise frequency
Archer, on the other hand, is also making waves with its electric planes, having received significant funding from United Airlines.
Archer’s contract with United
The industry is currently buzzing with over 200 companies rushing to make electric planes commercially viable.
Archer is developing an electric Vertical Takeoff and Landing (eVTOL) aircraft named Midnight, designed to cover distances up to 100 miles at speeds up to 150 mph.
Joby Aviation, on the other hand, is progressing with the certification of its eVTOL, having cleared some necessary FAA reviews, with support from significant investments.
Lilium, a German-based company, has been making strides with its Lilium Jet, a unique eVTOL aircraft. Finally, Vertical Aerospace from the UK is also making headway with its VX4 eVTOL, having achieved a successful test flight and securing substantial pre-orders for its aircraft
The electric aircraft market is dominated by other key players such as AMETEK, Safran, Astronics Corporation, Amphenol Corporation, and Honeywell International.
These companies are contributing significantly to the electric aviation industry's growth, which is projected to see a substantial increase in market size from USD 1.2 Billion in 2023 to USD 23.4 Billion by 2030.
Regulatory Hurdles: A Tough Nut to Crack
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has a meticulous certification process to ensure the safety and airworthiness of these new-age aircraft.
This process includes certifying the aircraft, and the operation, and integrating them safely into the national aerospace system.
The goal is to make the public feel as safe in electric planes as they do in commercial airplanes.
FAA will take years to:
Certify the aircraft
Certify the operations and airports
Figure out how to safely integrate with the national aerospace system
Useful Links:
Airble: The app for private jets (Link)
How to not be fooled by viral charts (Link)
The Billionaire keeping Tiktok on the phones in the US (Link)
Why most tennis players struggle to make a living (Link)
“Perspective often comes from distance or time. If you’re trying to solve a problem and you’re stuck, try shifting your vantage point. Examples of this are moving up and contemplating the bigger picture, moving down and seeing more details, or assuming the perspective of other stakeholders—customers, suppliers, partners, and government. Many problems become clearer if you extend the timeline. What does this situation look like in the weeks, months, and years ahead? Assuming different perspectives allows you to gain a more complete understanding of what’s really going on.”
Shane Parrish
The Magic Formula
Everyone’s looking for a shortcut or a magic formula.
Shane Parish articulated it pretty well: (All you need is)
"The courage to start.
The discipline to focus.
The confidence to figure it out.
The patience to know progress is not always visible.
The persistence to keep going, even on the bad days.
That's the formula."
Also for the past year, I have been maintaining a daily journal to document my ideas, thoughts, etc.
You can use apps like Notion or Notes to keep things organized and easily check your ideas later on.
For me, asking basic questions every day helps a lot:
What's the most important thing I'm working on?
How much do I value my time?
This helps me spot trends, gaps in my thinking, tasks I can outsource, and skills I need to learn.
An idea I heard in a podcast with Tim Ferris & Sam Corcos:
Replace consuming news/social media, reading blogs, and keeping up with current events with books.
(I finished the biography of Elon Musk and it was extremely thrilling and fun)
It will improve your behavior and make you more clear, if it’s important enough it will end up in a book.
MEMES 😂
“Take me somewhere expensive.”
— Douglas A. Boneparth (@dougboneparth)
Sep 19, 2023
4 Ways to Improve Your Life:
• Eat healthy
• Get good sleep
• Inherit $1 million
• Exercise regularly— Douglas A. Boneparth (@dougboneparth)
Sep 16, 2023
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