Scale Electric

[Frank Skilbeck]

So if you're going to electrify a DH Beaver, why not keep it scale.

 

 

[Dale Bradly]

One assumes that when you take out the 296kg radial, along with oil tanks, exhaust pipes, fluids etc and replace it with a 185kg electric motor, compromises must be made. That compromise could involve 100+kg of lead, or...

[Jonathan M]

She says near the beginning that aircraft are more efficient at higher altitudes.  Why is this?

[Philip Lewis 3]

10 minutes ago, Jonathan M said:

She says near the beginning that aircraft are more efficient at higher altitudes.  Why is this?

Because the air is much thiner up high so less resistance, it also allows the plane to achieve a much higher speed which it cannot at lower altitudes, current commercial jets long haul typically about 40,000 feet high, Concorde 60,000 feet high, Blackbird 80,000 feet high.

[J D 8 - Moderator]

   Electric power systems does not require air to burn the fuel to produce thrust.  It is a compromise for piston and jet to have the best altitude for the type of engine you have. Electric it will be the best altitude for the aerodynamic set up of your aircraft and its propellor I recon.

[Martin Harris - Moderator]

8 hours ago, Dale Bradly said:

One assumes that when you take out the 296kg radial, along with oil tanks, exhaust pipes, fluids etc and replace it with a 185kg electric motor, compromises must be made. That compromise could involve 100+kg of lead, or...

...put the batteries under/around the motor?

[Chris Walby]

17 minutes ago, Martin Harris - Moderator said:

...put the batteries under/around the motor?

Is that the best place for battery management/performance + make it as difficult to maintain as an English Electric Lightning.

 

Didn't she say the only parts left unchanged were the prop and airframe, so ease of changing components needs to be as easy/quick as possible without loads of secondary re-engineering. They have tried major different approaches with battery string configurations and encountered significant electrical noise issues so flexibility seems key at this stage.

[Eric Robson]

It looks to me ,the nose is longer than the radial engine version so mounting the motor further forward would help with the c ofg without adding to much deadweight. 

[Dale Bradly]

"Surprisingly, even after turning down the kilowatt output, the electric engine outperformed expectations, offering a 15% efficiency boost, partly due to the Beaver’s outdated propeller. Additionally, the MagniX engine’s lightweight design reduced the aircraft’s overall weight, contributing to improved aerodynamics after they were able to change out the nose of plane due to less cooling requirements.

Holtz explains, “The efficiency of these engines is so poor 80% of the power is actually being rejected in heat and so you have to cool the engine quite significantly. So there’s a lot of that frontal area that is just allowing air to come in to cool the engine, which also slows down and creates drag on the aircraft. So being able to put a pointy nose on it, we got a significant improvement in the aerodynamic performance of the aircraft.”

 

Source: https://engineeringmatters.reby.media/2023/09/01/electric-flight-takes-off/

[Dale Bradly]

12 hours ago, Chris Walby said:

Didn't she say the only parts left unchanged were the prop and airframe...

 

Prop is certainly not the factory standard supplied unit!

[Cuban8]

Technically impressive but a practical non-starter because of the usual multiple disadvantages of batteries as a power source compared with IC. They push the usual 'green' stuff but a fact is a fact. A pity because they've put a lot of effort and money into it.

Also........in the middle of the wilds of Canada???? yeah right. Have they not watched the series 'Ice Pilots'?

[PatMc]

30 minutes ago, Cuban8 said:

Technically impressive but a practical non-starter because of the usual multiple disadvantages of batteries as a power source compared with IC. They push the usual 'green' stuff but a fact is a fact. A pity because they've put a lot of effort and money into it.

Also........in the middle of the wilds of Canada???? yeah right. Have they not watched the series 'Ice Pilots'?

Was "in the middle of the wilds of Canada" mentioned in the video ?

24 years ago I was on holiday in Vancouver & visited the harbour area several times. During one of the visits I took a sight-seeing trip on one of the Beavers doing a commuter taxi service run from Vancouver Harbour around several of the small islands close to Vancouver Island. The harbour airport was busy with Beavers & Twin Beavers but most of the scheduled destinations were short distance with just a few to the more remote parts of BC. My experience of the mainly short, relatively low level flights being the norm was pretty much as described in the video. 

[Cuban8]

 In mild wintered Vancouver for sightseeing trips........ OK.  Up in the Northern Territories I think not. Wish them well with their endeavour though.

[PatMc]

Habour Air is based in Vancouver, most of their business is scheduled & commuter. IIRC there were some sightseeing destinations further afield that could be booked in advance but only when suitable aircraft were not busy with their main business committments. Something like 90% of the Canadian polulation live within a couple of hours drive to the US border. The Northern Territories flights may make good spectacle subjects for TV but are probably only a tiny proportion of the small aircraft commercial flights & mainly covered by a number of small specialist operators.