I mean "new Zeppelins" in the sense of "any day now..."
A new start-up says that it intends to offer an electric-powered commercial flight from London to Paris in 10 years. Its plane, yet to go into development, would carry 150 people on journeys of less than 300 miles. Wright Electric said by removing the need for jet fuel, the price of travel could drop dramatically.
British low-cost airline Easyjet has expressed its interest in the technology. "Easyjet has had discussions with Wright Electric and is actively providing an airline operator's perspective on the development of this exciting technology," the airline told the BBC.
However, significant hurdles need to be overcome if Wright Electric is to make the Wright One, pictured above, a reality. The company is relying heavily on innovation in battery technology continuing to improve at its current rate. If not, the firm will not be able to build in enough power to give the plane the range it needs.
Industry experts are wary of the company's claims. Graham Warwick, technology editor of Aviation Weekly, said such technology was a "long way away". "The battery technology is not there yet," he told the BBC. "It's projected to come but it needs a significant improvement. Nobody thinks that is going to happen anytime soon. And there's all the [safety] certification - those rules are yet to be created, and that takes time."
http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-39350058
A normal development time for a jet using established technologies would be in the order of ten years. Maybe they could prototype something in ten years, but go to production? Fat chance.
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