How Many iPods in a BiPod?

Dean Sigler Electric Powerplants, Sustainable Aviation Leave a Comment

David Bettencourt, a defense attorney in Hawaii and a regular reader of the blog, sent this note about Burt Rutan and his early interest in hybrid power for aircraft.  According to David, “A July 2000 Road & Track interview of Burt Rutan regarding the hybrid Honda Insight might be of interest.  It stated: “Does he see any application of hybrid propulsion for airplanes? An innocent question, although it leaves Rutan unusually silent. ‘Gee, maybe I shouldn’t disclose this in Road & Track. But at the risk of someone else doing this first, let me tell you about an airplane that would be really interesting to do.  This is fascinating….’ “Rutan leans back and stares into middle distance.  ‘Visualize an electric airplane with enough batteries to climb to about 500 feet.  Actually, it would have several small electric motors with small propellers scattered all around the airplane—some on the tail, some on the wings—so if one motor seized, it’s just a …