Boeing "SUGAR Volt" concept
05-15-2012, 04:24 AM
#2
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Here's another link on it:
Boeing SUGAR Volt concept (AvWeb)
Some thoughts I had when I read about it.
• Folding wings does not sound very good for short-leg airport operations. May lead to failed retractions and other problems. I bet that idea gets dropped.
• Wing struts are a pretty big source of drag. I bet this one gets dropped with the folding wings.
• Current batteries will not work, way too heavy. This airplane will not be built until better batteries are discovered.
• Hybrid drive is an efficient idea for propulsion, whether on the ground or in the air, but very expensive for what it saves. The idea had its best case in the mass production of automobiles where economies of scale allowed more spreading out of the development cost and the heavy conventional batteries did not matter as much. The opposite is true of aircraft, they build maybe a few hundred of a new design, and the entire cost must be attached to a small number of aircraft. That is why development costs have to be kept down, and why we see a strong trend toward derivative technology in aircraft design progression. One generation is very similar to the next, because wildly divergent technology has to be paid for, and unit production numbers are always low for such aircraft. Even with miracle batteries, this idea will probably not work out.
On the other hand, I always enjoy these crazy Boeing futuristic airplanes. They are truly stimulating to think about.
Boeing SUGAR Volt concept (AvWeb)
Some thoughts I had when I read about it.
• Folding wings does not sound very good for short-leg airport operations. May lead to failed retractions and other problems. I bet that idea gets dropped.
• Wing struts are a pretty big source of drag. I bet this one gets dropped with the folding wings.
• Current batteries will not work, way too heavy. This airplane will not be built until better batteries are discovered.
• Hybrid drive is an efficient idea for propulsion, whether on the ground or in the air, but very expensive for what it saves. The idea had its best case in the mass production of automobiles where economies of scale allowed more spreading out of the development cost and the heavy conventional batteries did not matter as much. The opposite is true of aircraft, they build maybe a few hundred of a new design, and the entire cost must be attached to a small number of aircraft. That is why development costs have to be kept down, and why we see a strong trend toward derivative technology in aircraft design progression. One generation is very similar to the next, because wildly divergent technology has to be paid for, and unit production numbers are always low for such aircraft. Even with miracle batteries, this idea will probably not work out.
On the other hand, I always enjoy these crazy Boeing futuristic airplanes. They are truly stimulating to think about.
05-15-2012, 05:04 AM
#5
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Haven't done a lot of reading on this, but I think recovered electrical energy could be used to separate hydrogen, and then burned along with Jet A in the turbine.
Last edited by Cubdriver; 05-15-2012 at 02:51 PM. Reason: clarity
05-15-2012, 11:50 AM
#6
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05-15-2012, 05:32 PM
#7
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That jogs my memory. A few years ago scientists were working on a way to seperate hydrogen out of the air to use as fuel. I never heard the results. BMW was also using liquid hydrogen for fuel on some cars a few years ago, but it seems to have fallen out of favor.
05-15-2012, 05:44 PM
#8
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What about a positive ionization of the leading edge, and the negative ionization of the jet exhaust stream similar to the B-2's propulsion system.
@ Cubdriver; Also the folding wings could well cause a cost blowout in certification, similar to the certification of the composite skinned Beechcraft Starship.
Pilot Gripe; Struts cause excessive drag, Engineers Solution; Struts told to lighten up.
Dunno about separating hydrogen, would require a large water source.
I too love these explorations of out of box thinking.
@ Red Forman. Sit down mate your not going to like this;
Boeing's SUGAR Volt Stable - SUGAR free, Refined SUGAR, SUGAR High, SUGAR volt and my personal favorite the SUGAR Ray
Boeing Feature Story: Envisioning tomorrow's aircraft
@ Cubdriver; Also the folding wings could well cause a cost blowout in certification, similar to the certification of the composite skinned Beechcraft Starship.
Pilot Gripe; Struts cause excessive drag, Engineers Solution; Struts told to lighten up.
Dunno about separating hydrogen, would require a large water source.
I too love these explorations of out of box thinking.
@ Red Forman. Sit down mate your not going to like this;
Boeing's SUGAR Volt Stable - SUGAR free, Refined SUGAR, SUGAR High, SUGAR volt and my personal favorite the SUGAR Ray
Boeing Feature Story: Envisioning tomorrow's aircraft
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