Latest news with #sustainableflight
Yahoo
30-07-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
This Plane Is Bigger than a 747. It Can Fly for Months on Its Own.
Here's what you'll learn when you read this story: Flying on solar power isn't easy, but the U.S.-based startup Skydweller Aero thinks they may have a winning design. Called the Skydweller, this autonomous drone sports a 236-foot wingspan laden with 17,000 individual solar cells, and is capable of flying for at least three months without stopping, thanks to its quadruple redundant flight software and 1,400 pounds of batteries on board. This isn't a play at cross-country sustainable flight—Skydweller Vero sees their aircraft as primarily a spy tool for loitering over conflict zones or other areas of interest. Decarbonizing various forms of human transportation has been a relatively straightforward process. Lithium-ion batteries packed inside electric cars deliver mileage per charge similar to gasoline-powered cars, and electric trains have been around for nearly 150 years. Flying, on the other hand, has been a bit more difficult. Turns out you need a lot of energy to keep things running in mid-air, and that can be quite the engineering challenge. It's a difficulty that's been thoroughly explored by solar-powered electric planes like Solar Impulse, which completed a piloted round-the-world flight back in 2016. And now, a new kind of a solar plane—called the Skydweller—is following in its footsteps. Although more of a drone than a plane (since it's designed to be autonomous), the Skydweller—built by the U.S. tech startup Skydweller Aero—contains 17,000 individual solar cells placed across its gargantuan 236-foot wingspan, which is wider than a Boeing 747 tip-to-tip. Of course, seeing as it has no human cargo, it's also 160 times lighter (thanks to its carbon fiber construction), and can carry only 2.5 metric tons at max capacity. In April 2024, Skydweller successful performed its first unmanned test flight at Stennis International Airport in Mississippi. 'This is a true, world-changing first in the aerospace industry,' Skydweller Aero CEO Robert Miller said in a press statement at the time. 'We are applying cutting-edge, 21st-century materials science, artificial intelligence, and software development to an industry that has spent more than 100 years building piloted, combustion-based aircraft.' While it sounds a bit like the main character from some schlocky Star Wars ripoff, the name is an apt one, as Skydweller isn't designed with human passengers in mind. Instead, Skydweller Aero sees its aircraft primarily as a surveillance machine, circling the sky and providing much-needed eyes over conflict zones or other areas of interest. Powered by the Sun, the company estimates that it can stay airborne for at least three months at a time—if not longer. To survive those long nights when the Sun isn't shining, the aircraft is equipped with 1,400 pounds of batteries, and it also drops to lower elevations, descending from its typical operating range of between 25,000 and 35,000 feet down to between 5,000 and 10,000 feet. Of course, power is only part of the issue—the Skydweller's aviation software also has to continuously run without error. According to Skydweller's website, the aircraft's vehicle management system maintains quadruple redundancy by using 'advanced self-healing algorithms within the VMS' to autonomously shut down, fix, and resurrect while the drone is in flight. The U.S. military has invested in a variety of surveillance balloons and blimps in the recent past. The Joint Land Attack Cruise Missile Defense Elevated Netted Sensor System (JLENS), first requested in the late 90s, was meant to fulfill a similar role, but was effectively cancelled in 2017. Recently, the U.S. Army has worked with the private company Aerostar to develop spy balloons capable of staying aloft for a month (and were last seen not over a warzone, but instead the city of Tucszon, Arizona near the U.S.-Mexico border). No doubt the Skydweller would add another tool to that surveillance arsenal. Whether that's a good or bad thing remains to be seen. You Might Also Like The Do's and Don'ts of Using Painter's Tape The Best Portable BBQ Grills for Cooking Anywhere Can a Smart Watch Prolong Your Life?
Bloomberg
10-06-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
From the Hamptons to JFK in An All-Electric Plane
Beta Technologies flew its fixed-wing, electric aircraft from the Hamptons to JFK Airport for the first time recently. While just a demonstration for now, Beta is hoping to gain certification for its electric aircraft by Technologies CEO Kyle Clark joined Bloomberg Open Interest to talk about the future of electric aviation. (Source: Bloomberg)
CBS News
03-06-2025
- Business
- CBS News
All-electric aircraft makes historic landing at JFK Airport
JFK Airport has its first ever all-electric aircraft landing JFK Airport has its first ever all-electric aircraft landing JFK Airport has its first ever all-electric aircraft landing History was made Tuesday at John F. Kennedy International Airport as an all-electric aircraft made a successful runway landing for the first time. The aircraft made a 45-minute journey from Suffolk County to Queens in a first-of-its-kind passenger-carrying demonstration flight. "So quiet, so efficient, so green" Beta Technologies, a Vermont-based start-up, is now the first United States company to land an all-electric aircraft at an airport in the New York-New Jersey region. The company's founder and CEO, Kyle Clark, piloted the Alia CX300 himself, landing successfully – and quietly. He says the historic flight showcases the future of urban air mobility amid a longstanding push for electric aviation. "That flight we just took from East Hampton to here was like $8 in electricity," he said. Clark says the company's all-electric aircraft have undergone years of rigorous safety testing. "It's super meaningful to bring an aircraft of new technology through six years of development and testing to the point that we can actually put passengers in it," Clark said. Joining him on Tuesday's flight were four passengers, including Andrew Kimball, CEO of NYC Economic Development Corporation. "So quiet, so efficient, so green. Really will transform the industry," Kimball said. "It was terrific. It was quiet," another passenger said. Beta Technologies aims to fly commercial passengers by 2026 Clark says the goal for such electric aircraft is to ease congestion, reduce emissions and increase accessibility for all. He hopes to be flying commercial passengers by 2026, although at this time, it's unclear exactly how much a commercial flight would cost. "Next year, we will achieve [Federal Aviation Administration] certification, we expect. It's gonna be a lot of hard work, more testing, so 18, 20 months from now, you can probably be flying one of these airplanes around New York," Clark said. "The airports have a big job to do in terms of establishing charging stations, developing areas where they can safely land and take off," said Port Authority of New York and New Jersey Executive Director Rick Cotton. In October 2024, the FAA finalized comprehensive training and pilot certification rules for flying such electric aircraft, calling it "the final piece in the puzzle for safely introducing these aircraft in the near term."
