Charge of the electric flight brigade

摘要

For powerplant makers there is a sceptical tone regarding the replacement of jet fuel burning turbines with electric 'propulsors' and a battery power source. "Unless you combine it with some aircraft-level benefit or even stored energy where you're using electricity that's been generated by other means, it does not make much sense to move to electrification," said Alan Newby, Rolls-Royce's Director of Aerospace technology and future programmes.A future all-electric aircraft would use power stored in batteries to operate all the avionics and the propulsors. A propulsor is defined by General Electric as: 'a mechanical device that provides propulsion, such as a propeller, driven by electric power.' A hybrid-electric system can involve a gas turbine charging the batteries that power the aircraft but there are also other concepts, including turbofans providing some thrust and also electrical power for the avionics and one or more propulsors.