Chokshi, Niraj. “Electric Planes, Once a Fantasy, Start to Take to the Skies.” The New York Times, 4 Nov. 2023,
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/03/business/electric-planes-beta-technologies.html?smid=url-share. Accessed 27 Jan. 2024.
The first flight of the fully electric CX300 airplane took place in November last year. The plane flew from Vermont to Florida on a test flight. The pilot had to take nearly two dozen stops to recharge the plane and rest. It has a range of about 150 miles on a single charge. It is also supposed to be easier to operate and maintain than conventional aircraft.
I think that electric airplanes and helicopters are a good alternative to just updating the type of fuel a regular jet uses. It’s cheaper and doesn’t have as large of a carbon footprint. We already have electric cars and trains. We should be able to modify those technologies to work with aircraft. These electric airplanes could also generate their own power with built-in solar panels. This doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t try other solutions.
It’s cool to see electric planes being tested out. I do hope that the technology gets better so that electric planes can travel further without stopping. I also agree that electricity is likely a better solution than changing fuel, but it needs a lot of improvement before it is viable for commercial flights. You said that electric planes are easier to operate – how so?
This is so cool, I didn’t know this was a thing. I agree that it will definitely be a good option for the future because planes are such a big producer of carbon. How many years do you think it will take to implement these planes into the industry?