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Designers hope hydrogen-powered plane will fly halfway around the world without refueling
One of the toughest nuts to crack when it comes to developing carbon-free transportation is flying. Commercial electric planes won't be feasible until batteries become more powerful and lightweight. Hydrogen-powered flight is another possible way forward, and a research group has revealed what such a plane could look like. The FlyZero project, which is led by the Aerospace Technology Institute and funded by the UK government, came up with a concept for a liquid hydrogen-powered midsize… (www.engadget.com) Mais...
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halfway around the world is a laudable goal, but real live people/passengers will have to endure the strain of such a flight. How many hours endurance will such an airliner consume in this pie in the hydrogen-sky ideal? Suspended animation would be timely here, but don't hold your breath. Any time line operating here?
The headline is misleading because the article mentions one refueling stop.
The energy density of hydrogen isn’t nearly as good as that of jet fuels, so in order for this aircraft to fly halfway around the world it would need to be essentially a tanker in the sky, or fly with a minimal load of passengers and cargo. From the looks of the fuselage it is designed to carry a huge amount of fuel, which is very inefficient.
Hydrogen is lighter than air, I hope they have a way of keeping an aircraft with that much fuel on the ground before takeoff.
The article mentions that "cryogenic fuel tanks ... would store hydrogen at -250 degrees Celsius". The hydrogen will therefore be in liquid state, which is heavier than air.
It's only lighter than air at ambient pressure, not when compressed and liquified (as is the case in this application). One gallon of liquid hydrogen weighs about 0.6 lbs.
Thanks, I didn't know that.
https://simpleflying.com/flyzero-zero-emission-concept/