The Future of Aviation Is Steam Power

With viable electric aircraft for flight training still years away, what’s the real alternative fuel?

Thursday, February 24, 2022 at 09:44 AM ET

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The fatal flaw standing in the way of effective use of electric-powered aircraft is very well understood and easily summed up in two words: energy density. [Photo: Air]

Key Takeaways:

The author dismisses current electric aircraft development as an "investor-targeted fraud," comparing it to Theranos, due to fundamental technological limitations rather than genuine viability.
The primary obstacle for electric aircraft is the significantly lower energy density of batteries compared to aviation fuel, which drastically limits flight time, useful load, and operational performance, especially in varying temperatures.
Current and emerging battery technologies (like solid-state) and hydrogen fuel cells are either insufficient in their energy density or too expensive and far off (10+ years) to offer practical solutions for widespread electric aviation.
The article suggests that much of the promotion and investment in electric aircraft is based on misleading claims and a lack of skeptical review, ultimately unlikely to deliver usable products or returns for investors.

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Attention, investors: I’ve decided to design and build an airplane powered entirely by steam engine. The target market for such an aircraft is, of course, flight schools and any pilots looking to avoid the high cost of avgas by chopping their own firewood. Exciting, huh? I’m just a few years from building my conforming prototype and looking for investors with an insatiable appetite for socially responsible nonsense and too polite to wonder out loud how long it takes the boiler to build up a head of steam.

Yeah, sticks of wood are a kind of fossil fuel, but they are unleaded, so my engine is definitely greener than yours, sort of. And yes, a steam engine can spin a propeller. Now, enough of your pesky questions.