World-Record Electric Motor for Aircraft
19th April 2015
Siemens researchers have developed a new type of electric motor that, with a weight of just 50 kilograms, delivers a continuous output of about 260 kilowatts – five times more than comparable drive systems. The motor has been specially designed for use in aircraft. Thanks to its record-setting power-to-weight ratio, larger aircraft with takeoff weights of up to two tons will now be able to use electric drives for the first time.
April 20th, 2015 at 09:30
A friend of mine used to fly model planes when we were young. I visited him a couple years ago and he an his son were flying models that day. The old ones used a single piston engine that fired some sort of alcohol mixture. The new ones use electric motors. Instead of having to carefully land the plane, you can now bring it in at a hover and just grab it. With batteries becoming lighter (thanks to cell phones) and with motors capable of much higher power/weight ratios than the piston engines, all sorts of new opportunities open up. Just about every cell phone store sells helicopter drones. It’s really a little surprising that its taken this long to scale things up.