Everywhere We Look The Talk Is About Hybrid Cars, Why Are There No Hybrid Aircraft ?

Question

It is not only internal cumbustion engined ( petrol ) cars causing Global warming, aircraft jet engines are as well, and the aviation Industry is currently poised for very strong growth in the years ahead with ever more powerful engines being built to power bigger aircraft, so even more fossil fuel gas output in the skys above our very heads, yet we hear nothing about it.

Answer 1

I'm actually hoping that Hybrid bosses could be invented so that you could reprogram them each morning to extend the deadlines to jobs by an extra month, or two.

Answer 2

Part of the answer is in the power available for thrust. Electric motors don't supply near enough power, so THAT kind of jet hybrid is not possible. For that market, the best hope is to 1. improve the efficiency of the jet engine (development on that is doing very well. The newest jumbo jet has engines with wildly improved fuel economy) 2. develop fuels from renewable sources and, 3. the not very attractive notion that we don't all need to travel all that fast. (the Concorde SSTs are phased out and no replacement in sight)

I'm sure the thoought about hybrid propeller driven aircraft has been around. There have been some sucessfull all electric aircraft experiments, using solar cells for the source. The problem, here is that it takes a LOT of cells to power an electric motor for an aircraft. The trials, so far have had to be done with plastic airframe parts and thin plastic body panels, using something like Saran Wrap, and just as thin. These remote controled planes were all wing and had virtually no payload.

Maybe solar cells can be improved to a point where this direction becomes more practical.

As far as an aircraft using the same technology as hybrid cars, this solution may have a future, but, not yet. 1. The batteries for these vehicles are extremely heavy, so the aircraft payload is limited. For ground vehicles, this is less of a problem because a car or truck frame can be built strong enough without the same weight restrictions. 2. Part of what makes hybrid cars and trucks practical is that much of the power the batteries put out to the wheels can be recovered when the vehicle's brakes are applied. The batteries don't have to hold a charge as long and the gas engines can be made that much smaller. In an aircraft, there is no way to recover any of that energy when the plane is slowed down.

So remember, just because you hear nothing about the subject, does not mean that research isn't being done. The public should do a little research to find out where research money is being spent. The internet makes some of this research fun and easy.

Answer 3

The main key to hybrid cars lies in two things:

1. Regenerative braking, where a car slowing down can recapture roughly 80% of the energy in batteries.

2. That battery power is reused to start the car, and keep it going up til 30mph, where the air resistance is too high for battery power to be efficient, and fuel engines kick in again.

First off, planes don't brake. They generally cruise at a constant speed, and only slow down during landing (which honestly isnt that much energy to recapture compared to a full flight even if they wanted to)

Secondly, look carefully at #2, air resistance. That's the main force that an object fights once it goes anywhere above 55mph and is keeping a constant speed. To use batteries on an airplane to try and keep it going at roughly 700mph for a prolonged amount of time (not to mention the added weight and space of carrying all those batteries) makes the ordeal impractical and uneconomical.

That's why you don't see many hybrid anything-else's out there.

Answer 4

The power to weight ratio is wrong for flight. Aircraft need to be strong and light. Hybrid engines are too heavy and not nearly powerful enough.

Answer 5

Hybrids have a much higher weight to power ratio than just combustion. Also, there aren't electric motors big enough to fly a plane. Sounds good in concept, but makes no sense in real life.

Answer 6

It takes MUCH more power to lift a vehicle in the air than it does to make a vehicle roll.
Hybrids aren't known for power.

Answer 7

Wait there, latin techie..... Only Al Gore really believes that cars are the cause of global warming. (well, you too)
Tell you what, leave what happens over your 'very' head to the smart ones, k?

Answer 8

its because cars generally only carry 2 people, but jets carry hundreds, so the polution cost doesn't seem so bad.

Answer 9

There is an old saying:

"You "Can't Pull Over At Thirty Thousand Feet" !!

Answer 10

batteries are too heavy.