After 9/11, when all commercial flights in the U.S. were grounded for three days, the diurnal temperature difference increased by up to 1.8 degrees C. The increase was strongest where air traffic was normally densest, said the study’s author, David Travis of the University of Wisconsin. By Fred Pearce, Yale360, July 2019 New research shows that condensation trails from aircraft exhaust …
Electric Aviation Taking Off
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2019/7/4/1867720/-Your-next-flight-could-be-electric-in-a-good-way?detail=emaildkre Your next flight could be electric—in a good way When people take an airline flight, “electric” is not a term that seems all that desirable. For most people, that would seem to suggest something happening in the skies that was considerably different from the kind of get on, snooze, get off experience they’d like to have in getting from A to B. …
Airplane Contrails’ Climate Impact to Triple by 2050, Study Says: The clouds created by jet engine pollution have a surprisingly powerful short-term impact on global warming
BY BOB BERWYN, INSIDECLIMATE NEWS JUN 27, 2019 Those thin white clouds that jet engines draw across the sky are leaving their mark on the climate. A new study warns that the global heat-trapping effect of contrail clouds will triple by 2050 unless airlines and airplane builders dramatically reduce emissions or air traffic patterns change. Air travel is growing so …
Flying cheaper than driving for trips up to 300 miles and 3x faster? Also energy cost for 1 hr of electric flight is $7 in Solar Impulse spinoff H55
Eviation claims Alice is capable of flying nine passengers at 240 knots (276 mph) up to 650 miles on a single charge. The aircraft will use electric motors from MagniX, an all-electric flight propulsion company which recently announced its own partnership with Harbour Air to make the seaplane operator the world’s first all-electric airline. BlackBird adding 100+ Bye electric airplanes to …
Climate crisis: aviation industry hears clamor for electric planes: Shift from fossil fuels top of agenda for Paris air show
By Jasper Jolly Sat 15 Jun 2019 The Guardian Faced with growing calls for action on the climate crisis, aerospace companies gathering for the Paris air show next week are turning their thoughts to a future run on electricity rather than fossil fuels. The scale of the challenge is considerable. The target for net zero carbon emissions by 2050, recommended by …
Using aviation biofuel continues to be difficult
Emissions from flying are comparatively low, but growing May 30th 2019, The Economist Compared with electricity generation (44%), road transport (17%) and even cement-making (4%), aviation, at about 2%, is not a huge source of man-made greenhouse-gas emissions. But it is a source, and it is growing fast. The International Civil Aviation Organisation, an arm of the un, forecasts that such emissions …
Those who fly more should pay more – 70% of the total number of flights are taken by only 15% of the population
NEF, Why Net Zero Needs a GND It’s also vital to turn the surge in public support for climate action into a mandate at the ballot box. While the Gilet Jaunes aren’t a single-issue movement, one of their central concerns is the imposition of a carbon tax on people unable to pay, while wealth taxes are getting cut. There’s no …
When Airplanes Are Designed To Be Energy Agnostic, You Know Electricity Is Banging At The Door
April 20th, 2019 by Nicolas Zart on Clean Technica The amount of breakthroughs and progress electric aviation has made this past decade are awe inspiring. We’ve got news practically every day of electric airplanes (e-planes) and electric vertical takeoff & landing (eVTOL) aircraft under development, planned for market, or already arriving. When you look back to long-off dreams of electric VTOL aircraft back …
Vancouver-based airline is switching entire fleet of planes, 500,000 passengers annually, to electric
In addition to being a great efficiency improvement, with an electric motor, the planes’ engines don’t need to be rebuilt every 2,500 to 3,000 hours. Maintenance is much lower. Harbour Air Is Switching Over To 100% Electric Seaplanes, April 6th, 2019 by Nicolas Zart in Clean Technica It’s always great hearing stories such as a new one from seaplane operator Harbour Air, which …
The race is on to build batteries big enough for planes to fly on clean electricity.
Norway announced last year that the country wants all domestic flights to be electric by 2040. Beyond the hardware, electric aircraft stand to change airline business operations. Electric motors can allow for very short — even vertical — takeoff and landing, which means they don’t necessarily need an airport with huge runways. So rather than airlines, these aircraft could operate as …