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Boeing Working on Fuel Cell Aircraft

Posted by samzenpus on from the 12,000-AA-batteries-not-included dept.

"Boeing is working with development partners on a fuel cell-based small aircraft. It seems like a logical use of the technology. Now if they can come up with a quiet, personal-sized VTOL craft a la Paul Moller's Skycar (which is anything but quiet), we'll really have something." From the article "A Boeing research director was quoted as saying, "While Boeing does not envision that fuel cells will provide primary power for future commercial passenger airplanes, demonstrations like this help pave the way for potentially using this technology in small manned and unmanned air vehicles."

4 of 163 comments (clear)

  1. Reliability? by mcrbids · · Score: 4, Interesting

    One of the biggest problems with smaller aircraft is reliability. Simply put, piston engines are not as reliable as jet engines. They must be rebuilt every 2,000 hours of flight under the best circumstances. And, with smaller planes at slower speeds, jets just don't make sense.

    Turboprop engines are a good middle ground for mid-sized planes starting at the 12-seat size or so, but are very expensive for the smallest aircraft. (2 and 4 seaters)

    Electric motors, other the other hand, can be incredibly reliable. If designed for it, they have just a single moving part, and can run continuously, 24x7x365 for many years without issues. This kind of reliability in a small plane would be just incredible!

    --
    I have no problem with your religion until you decide it's reason to deprive others of the truth.
    1. Re:Reliability? by ppanon · · Score: 3, Interesting

      can we build a battery pack good enough for 790 mile range, with NO loss of power over that range, that weighs 250lbs?

      No, but that may be why they're looking at fuel cells which have different performance characteristics than battery packs.

      My guess is that they really want to use it for military/police UAVs where getting rid of the noise from a combustion engine will seriously improve stealth operation modes. Smaller surveillance-oriented versions could perhaps be dropped from a mother ship and have smaller range requirements than you indicate.

      --
      Laissez lire, et laissez danser; ces deux amusements ne feront jamais de mal au monde. - Voltaire
  2. Ultralights by MobyDisk · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I know nothing about engines, so can someone answer some basic questions for me? Wouldn't a fuel-cell engine be essentially an electric engine? Would it be quieter than a gasoline engine? More reliable? Would there be any odor? If so, they would be ideal for ultralights:

    I am a hang glider pilot, and I would love to have a small engine for it. There are several manufacturers who make small engines for them, they are loud, stinky, gasoline engines. Most of them only hold 1-2 gallons of fuel, which is plenty for this type of flight. Wouldn't a fuel-cell engine do the trick?

  3. giant rubber bands by Quadraginta · · Score: 3, Interesting

    ...or some kind of powered trampoline.

    This isn't totally humorous, incidentally. Think of aircraft carriers. You can achieve very short take-off distances without putting the giant (noisy) vertical-flight machinery on your aircraft -- because you can just leave it on the ground behind you. But you must then accept the fact that you can only launch in certain places.

    Still, I'd bet there's a market for a cheap skycar that can only launch at certain public facilities but can land nearly anywhere.