Bye lands orders for nearly 300 electric planes
This is cool indeed, but don&#x27;t get too excited - this is a puff piece touting (220, not 300) preorders that aren&#x27;t yet real orders and might never be.<p>The plane is not FAA certified yet (the first and only prototype flew in February), and the 4 seater (which accounts for half of the 220 preorders) won&#x27;t fly until 2022, and then will have to seek FAA certification too.[1]<p>Electric motors and batteries have a long way to go to even come close to power density and weight of kerosene or gasoline aviation engines.[2] Batteries also don&#x27;t get lighter with reduced charge - something most aircraft rely on with designs and efficiency (ie. 500lbs of batteries weigh the same when nearly empty).<p>It&#x27;s also notoriously difficult and extremely expensive to certify new engine types for general aviation commercial pre-built&#x27;s - which is part of the reason majority of modern GA aircraft still use very old engine designs (just not worth the investment from the manufactures). You can&#x27;t just show it works... it has to be proven to work in a number of extreme situations and for very long duration with extreme reliability.<p>Getting a new engine type into an Experimental Type Aircraft is much, much easier...<p>I&#x27;d also hope the motor electrical system is fully isolated and separate from the aircraft&#x27;s other electrical systems (maybe I missed it, but I haven&#x27;t seen anything discussing this so far). Electrical problems happen, and losing all systems plus the motor at the same time would seriously jeopardize the safety of this aircraft.<p>I wish Bye and his company the best, but I&#x27;m skeptical.<p>[1] <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;en.wikipedia.org&#x2F;wiki&#x2F;Bye_Aerospace_eFlyer_2" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;en.wikipedia.org&#x2F;wiki&#x2F;Bye_Aerospace_eFlyer_2</a>
[2] <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;aviation.stackexchange.com&#x2F;a&#x2F;26919&#x2F;2294" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;aviation.stackexchange.com&#x2F;a&#x2F;26919&#x2F;2294</a>