Tesla and it's Panasonic battery

[moushegiancarl]

While several manufacturers are touting the next generation battery as being Solid State and having an energy efficiency of 1,000+ wh/L .Tesla is currently using Panasonic Lithium -ion cells that have 660 wh/L in it's "S" model with a range of 275+ miles and in its X model planned for next year a battery pack of 800 wh/L.
The Zero SR electric motorcycle with it's 50 Kw motor and battery pack has a range
of 150 miles . I don't know it's energy density , but...
Looks like an Earthstar Gull with a 3 hour endurance is here.
Have we arrived at the point in time where a 2-cycle engine is an anachronism or
would these battery packs weigh too much ? Mark ?
Carl

[earthstaraircraft]

Hi Carl
The measurement that is most important to me is Wh pr kg. since it represents the weight that the airplane needs to carry.
We are using the Zero battery's and 40 kW motor.
An 11.4 kWh LiPo battery weighing 170# will fly for as long as 1:10 at 63 mph. Basically 70 miles.
The most popular battery size for the eGull is 2 2.8 kWh battery's totaling 5.6 kWh weighing 90 lbs, since FAR103 reads 5 gallons of fuel. This is a volume measurement not weight.
But performance is weight driven so 5.6 kWh at 90 lbs gives 50 min.

Sent from my iPhone

[blaswichk]

I agree with the weight thing. The current 85 KW of storage on the Tesla weighs about 1200 lbs I’ve read, so even scaling that down has got us waiting for higher density. And all it takes for us to adopt new technology is more money, (er, I’m still waiting for my lottery win). And the only thing more fun than one Zero motor is two. Imagine a twin engine Gull, (SuperGull), with a pair of 40 KW Zero motors.

[rahulsainieverywhere]

Hi Mark,

In line with what Kess is suggesting. I always wanted to know how long are the cables from the 40 KW motor to the controller and from the controller to the battery bank?


From what I know, a brushless low voltage, high current DC motor is very sensitive to long cable lengths due to the resistive heating.


Assuming the twin zero 40 KW motor(as suggested by Kess) need to be on the wings, the cockpit is ideal for carrying the battery and the controller but this requires long length cables and the Zero guys recommend not using long cables.


I saw the images of your eGull but always wanted to find out the rough length of these thick cables. I think you found the optimized length where the length still does not interfere with the way the drivetrain works.



I would appreciate if you can you elaborate.
Thanks,
Rahul

[rmm_guam]

Some may think Tesla is a friend of battery innovation. This well structured article says otherwise. The author says that Tesla may instead seriously stifle innovation and progress in this critical area.
RMM

What Tesla’s Gigafactory Means for Battery Startups | Xconomy http://www.xconomy.com/boston/2014/09/0 ... -startups/

http://www.xconomy.com/boston/2014/09/0 ... -startups/

What Tesla’s Gigafactory Means for Battery Startups ... http://www.xconomy.com/boston/2014/09/0 ... -startups/ Tesla Motors' decision to build its gigafactory in Nevada could increase competition for advanced batteries and points to the long time it takes to introdu...



View on www.xconomy.com http://www.xconomy.com/boston/2014/09/0 ... -startups/
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[earthstaraircraft]

Hi Kess
I am having a lot of fun flying a single Zero 40 kW, it gives better performance than a 503 but if you want to weight till the next developments in battery's than keep flying your 503 and spending all your money you would have spent buying battery's on gas! It ads up but we don't see it because we think that there is no other alternative!
Fly and drive electric and show the world you care about your life and your planet!
Happy Flying
Mark

Sent from my iPhone

[earthstaraircraft]

The controller is ne'er the motor about 13.006 in long. This is the critical cable it is 0.
The distance to the bat is about 3 feet. It is also 0.
Have only slight heating after clime to 13,000 feet.
You fly a zero eGull with a 40 kW motor and you won't be happy with petrochemicals any more.
Happy Flying
Mark

Sent from my iPhone

[blaswichk]

But the math is still not in my favor yet. I’ve been flying about 50 hours a year, ( I wish I had more time to fly), and I probably spend about $200 for the gas at $4 a gallon. It’s the same hurdle for me if I was going to buy a bigger gas engine. But I can keep dreaming and watching for an opportunity to make some extra cash. Maybe I should buy a pot farm in Northern California and make some serious bank! (just kidding).

[blaswichk]

Mark, there is no doubt in my mind that there will be much more affordable electric plane options in the future. I really think that you are in a great place doing your electric plane design for the pilots that can’t spend the big bucks that the production planes will cost. Airbus, Cessna, and other are already gearing up for an electric powered training market. What your doing is way out in front, bringing knowledge to us poor homebuilders who won’t be able to afford the new pricey ones any more that buying a new high tech gas one.
Keep up the good work, we are all hanging on your ideas!!

[allan_farr]

Electric will probably always be too limiting for most people. I think the way to go would be hybrid - when the small battery pack runs out you've still got an engine. Twin engine safety as well.