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Orkney Islands Flight May Go Electric

posted by Fnord666 on Saturday October 20 2018, @08:31AM   Printer-friendly
from the could-almost-use-a-magnetic-rail-for-launch dept.

MostCynical writes:

The BBC are reporting that the Scottish airline Loganair's flights between Westray and Papa Westray, two islands in the Orkneys off the British coast, could be scheduled with electric planes.

The airline is working with experts in the hope of making the electric service a reality by 2021.

Loganair said the Islander aircraft it uses could be modified rather than developing a model from scratch.

It takes about two minutes - including taxiing - to complete the 1.7 mile Westray / Papa Westray leg flight, which is about the same length as the runway at Edinburgh Airport.

The record is 53 seconds.

Cranfield Aerospace are working on the project.

There is also a ferry between the islands, and there have been discussions about a bridge

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  • (Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday October 20 2018, @09:53AM (6 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Saturday October 20 2018, @09:53AM (#751340)

    The flight is so short, there's no point even boarding a plane. Stand at the end of the runway, while the ground crew inserts a 480 volt catheter into your anus. You'll jump that far when the catheter is energized.

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  • (Score: 2) by suburbanitemediocrity on Saturday October 20 2018, @10:11AM (5 children)

    by suburbanitemediocrity (6844) on Saturday October 20 2018, @10:11AM (#751345)

    Use a glider with electric tow launce

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dVMUbbwti24 [youtube.com]

    • (Score: 3, Insightful) by suburbanitemediocrity on Saturday October 20 2018, @10:14AM (2 children)

      by suburbanitemediocrity (6844) on Saturday October 20 2018, @10:14AM (#751346)

      you'd save a huge amount of money setting up an electric ferry with cables between the islands.

      • (Score: 2) by legont on Saturday October 20 2018, @01:19PM (1 child)

        by legont (4179) on Saturday October 20 2018, @01:19PM (#751385)

        The weather is bitch over there. Just consider 28 feet tides...

        --
        "Wealth is the relentless enemy of understanding" - John Kenneth Galbraith.

        • (Score: 4, Touché) by bob_super on Saturday October 20 2018, @04:17PM

          by bob_super (1357) on Saturday October 20 2018, @04:17PM (#751416)

          I'd go for the zipline option: Two towers, one zipline in each direction.
          Would bring tourists and revenue.

    • (Score: 2) by legont on Saturday October 20 2018, @01:25PM (1 child)

      by legont (4179) on Saturday October 20 2018, @01:25PM (#751386)

      Glider would work nicely, but there are no large gliders currently and development of anything certified for flying is very expensive. One needs scale.

      I doubt they would be able to have even this simple electric mod in place any time soon.

      --
      "Wealth is the relentless enemy of understanding" - John Kenneth Galbraith.

      • (Score: 1, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday October 20 2018, @10:33PM

        by Anonymous Coward on Saturday October 20 2018, @10:33PM (#751497)

        Trebuchet.