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The electric-plane future is about to take off
For years, you’ve been able to watch cool-looking electric-plane videos on YouTube, created by some of the 300 companies who are working on them. But Beta Technologies, in Burlington, Vermont, is unique: “I believe we’re the only company flying people,” said Beta’s CEO and founder Kyle Clark. His company’s electric plane can carry six people, and flies 250 miles on one charge.
“Every year, batteries get better and better, about seven percent per year,” he said. “That means in seven years we’ll double that. And another seven years, we’ll double that again.”
He believes that, in the-not-distant future, we will be flying on electric-powered jetliners.
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Traditional airplanes pump out about a billion tons of carbon dioxide every year. Electric planes produce no emissions at all, and that’s only their first advantage.
“One of the things that I think is underappreciated in electric aviation is that it’s quiet,” said Clark. “You can actually hear the wind noise over the fuselage. You feel like a bird.”
Electric motors are much simpler than jet engines, too; they contain one-tenth as many parts. Furthermore, electric planes cost far less to fly, since electricity costs only one-fortieth as much as jet fuel.
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But maybe the most impressive advantage of electric planes is that not all of them require runways.
Planes are known as eVTOLs (a clumsy acronym for Electric Vertical Take-Off and Landing) don’t need a runway to lift off, but they can still fly forward the usual way. The eVTOLs designed by Archer Aviation, based in San Jose, California, have a series of propellers, some used only in the lifting portion of flight; other propellers tilt, to be used in both take-off and forward flight.
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Archer is creating “air taxis.” You’ll board the air taxi from a so-called “vertiport” downtown, and then fly to the airport, for example, in just a few minutes to catch your traditional flight. Adam Goldstein, the founder and CEO of Archer, says your eVTOL flight will cost about as much as an Uber or Lyft ride.
“There’s lots of traffic that will congest the roads in-between the city centers and those airports,” said Goldstein. “Manhattan to JFK is a great example, where it’s actually not that far on the ground, but takes a really long time using ground transportation.”
Well, this sounds great! Planes that are faster, safer, cheaper, more reliable, and better for the environment!
So, what’s the holdup? According to aerospace consultant Sergio Cecutta, it’s the Federal Aviation Administration. “You’re talking about a class of airplanes that did not exist,” he said. “The FAA has a very complex task. They make sure that we can walk onto one of the planes and be in no more danger than getting out bed.”
The need for FAA approval explains two strange aspects of Beta Technologies’ plane. First, it’s available with or without its vertical propellers. (Clark believes that it will be easier to get initial FAA approval for a traditional plane than one that takes off vertically.)
As for the second strange thing: Beta’s goal isn’t creating air taxis. “There are a lot of ways that we can make a meaningful dent on the emissions of aviation before we start to do the thing that everybody talks about, jumping over traffic,” said Clark. “Moving cargo, moving medical, all of those things happen first.”
Really? The world’s first electric planes will make history by carrying boxes?
For Cecutta, that makes perfect sense: “One of the goals from Amazon is to have the majority of their products to be available the same day in large metropolitan areas. What if I can actually take off and land from one warehouse to the other warehouse and move this cargo? I always think of the Beta airplane as the Amazon truck with wings.”
Today, every airline has a desperate pilot shortage. That’s one reason that most eVTOLs will eventually be self-flying. According to Cecutta, “In the 2030s, 2040s, there’s going to be a very good chance that you’re going to walk into an airplane where there’s no pilot.”
But in the near-term, the FAA will require a pilot.
Beta and Archer have received millions of dollars’ worth of orders from various airlines and military branches. Both of them, plus an air-taxi company called Joby, have already delivered some planes to the Air Force. All three companies expect to receive FAA approval, and begin flying in the U.S., next year.
On the day of “Sunday Morning”‘s visit, Beta Technologies unveiled its new factory, the first electric-plane plant outside of China. Among the dignitaries in attendance: Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders. “It is an extraordinary day, not just for Vermont or for the country, but I think for aviation and in taking on climate change as well,” he said.
Pogue asked Clark, “Why Vermont? It seems like all the engineers and the programmers are in Silicon Valley?”
“In Vermont, there’s a heavy awareness of climate change,” Clark replied. “And having a group of people working on this that not only are really good at what they do, but they care about the mission, gives them a little extra oomph at two in the morning when we’re trying to get ready for a flight test the next morning.”
Among those passionate Vermont employees: former Delta pilot Chris Caputo. He said he took “a pretty healthy pay cut” to come work for Beta. “But it’s more about the mission that this company is on to decarbonize aviation and do something good for our planet, our country and the world, and, you know, your kids, my kids, and the next generation.”
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Story produced by Sari Aviv. Editor: Ed Givnish.
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Boeing workers going on strike after overwhelming vote to reject contract offer and walk off the job
Seattle — Machinists at Boeing voted Thursday to go on strike, another setback for the giant aircraft maker whose reputation and finances have been battered and now faces a shutdown in production of its best-selling airline planes.
The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers said its members rejected a contract that would have raised pay 25% over four years, then voted 94.6% to reject the contract and voted 96% to strike. A two-thirds vote among 33,000 workers was needed to strike.
“This is about respect, this is about the past, and this is about fighting for our future,” IAM District 751 President Jon Holden said in announcing the vote.
Very little has gone right for Boeing this year, from a panel blowing out and leaving a gaping hole in one of its passenger jets in January to NASA leaving two astronauts in space rather sending them home on a problem-plagued Boeing spacecraft.
As long as the strike lasts, it will deprive Boeing of much-needed cash that it gets from delivering new planes to airlines. That will be another challenge for new CEO Kelly Ortberg, who six weeks ago was given the job of turning around a company that has lost more than $25 billion in the last six years and fallen behind European rival Airbus.
Ortberg warned machinists that a strike vote would put Boeing’s recovery in jeopardy and raise more doubt about the company in the eyes of its airline customers.
Workers were in no mood to listen.
Ortberg made a last-ditch effort to avert a strike, telling machinists Wednesday that “no one wins” in a walkout.
“For Boeing, it is no secret that our business is in a difficult period, in part due to our own mistakes in the past,” he said. “Working together, I know that we can get back on track, but a strike would put our shared recovery in jeopardy, further eroding trust with our customers and hurting our ability to determine our future together.”
Many union members have posted complaints about the deal all week on social media. On Thursday, several dozen blew whistles, banged drums and held up signs calling for a strike as they marched to a union hall near Boeing’s 737 Max plant in Renton, Washington.
“As you can see, the solidarity is here,” said Chase Sparkman, a quality-assurance worker. “I’m expecting my union brothers and sisters to stand shoulder to shoulder, arm in arm, and let our company know that, hey, we deserve more.”
The machinists make $75,608 per year on average, not counting overtime, and that would rise to $106,350 at the end of the four-year contract, according to Boeing.
However, the deal fell short of the union’s initial demand for pay raises of 40% over three years. The union also wanted to restore traditional pensions that were axed a decade ago but settled for an increase in Boeing contributions to employee’s 401(k) retirement accounts.
Although the bargaining committee that negotiated the contract recommended ratification, Holden predicted earlier this week that workers would vote to strike.
Boeing worker Adam Vogel called the 25% raise “a load of crap. We haven’t had a raise in 16 years.”
Broderick Conway, another quality-assurance worker and 16-year Boeing employee, said the company can afford more.
“A lot of the members are pretty upset about our first offer. We’re hoping that the second offer is what we’re looking for,” he said. “If not … we’re going to keep striking and stand up for ourselves.”
The head of Boeing’s commercial-airplanes business, Stephanie Pope, tried earlier this week to discourage workers from thinking a strike would result in a better offer.
“We bargained in absolute good faith with the IAM team that represents you and your interests,” she said. “Let me be clear: We did not hold back with an eye on a second vote.”
Voting began at 5 a.m. local time at union halls in Washington state, Portland, Oregon, and a smattering of other locations.
A strike would stop production of the 737 Max, the company’s best-selling airliner, along with the 777 or “triple-seven” jet and the 767 cargo plane at factories in Everett and Renton, Washington, near Seattle. It likely would not affect Boeing 787 Dreamliners, which are built by nonunion workers in South Carolina.
TD Cowen aerospace analyst Cai von Rumohr said it is realistic based on the history of strikes at Boeing to figure that a walkout would last into mid-November, when workers’ $150 weekly payments from the union’s strike fund might seem low going into the holidays.
A strike that long would cost Boeing up to $3.5 billion in cash flow because the company gets about 60% of the sale price when it delivers a plane to the buyer, von Rumohr said.
Union negotiators unanimously recommended that workers approve the tentative contract reached over the weekend.
Boeing promised to build its next new plane in the Puget Sound area. That plane – not expected until sometime in the 2030s – would replace the 737 Max. That was a key win for union leaders, who want to avoid a repeat of Boeing moving production of Dreamliners from Everett to South Carolina.
Holden told members Monday the union got everything it could in bargaining and recommended approval of the deal “because we can’t guarantee we can achieve more in a strike.”
Many union members, however, are still bitter about previous concessions on pensions, health care and pay.
“They are upset. They have a lot of things they want. I think Boeing understands that and wants to satisfy a fair number of them,” said von Rumohr, the aerospace analyst. “The question is, are they going to do enough?”
Boeing has seen its reputation battered since two 737 Max airliners crashed in 2018 and 2019, killing 346 people. The safety of its products came under renewed scrutiny after a panel blew out of a Max during a flight in January.
___
Koenig reported from Dallas.
(Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.)
9/13/2024 12:43:48 AM (GMT -4:00)
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Miami Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa leaves field with concussion after collision with Bills’ Damar Hamlin
Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa was ruled out of Thursday night’s game with the Buffalo Bills because of a concussion after colliding with defensive back Damar Hamlin and hitting the back of his head against the turf.
Tagovailoa, who has a history of dealing with head injuries, remained down for about two minutes before getting to his feet and walking to the sideline after the play in the third quarter. He made his way to the tunnel not long afterward, looking into the stands, appeared to smile and departed for the locker room.
Lynne Sladky / AP
The Dolphins needed almost no time before announcing it was a concussion.
Tagovailoa, who sustained multiple concussions his first three NFL seasons, positioned himself for a big pay bump with an injury-free and productive 2023. He threw for 29 touchdowns and a league-best 4,624 yards.
He signed a four-year, $212 million extension before this season and was the NFL’s leading passer in Week 1 this season. Tagovailoa left the game with the Dolphins trailing 31-10, which held as the final score.
Tagovailoa was hurt on a fourth-down keeper with about 4:30 left in the third. He went straight ahead into Hamlin and did not slide, leading with his right shoulder instead.
He wound up on his back, both his hands in the air and Bills players immediately pointed at Tagovailoa as if to suggest there was an injury. Dolphins center Aaron Brewer quickly did the same, waving to the sideline.
Tagovailoa eventually got to his feet. Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel grabbed the side of his quarterback’s head and gave him a kiss on the cheek as Tagovailoa departed. Skylar Thompson came into the game to take Tagovailoa’s spot.
Hamlin was the player who suffered a cardiac arrest after making a tackle during a Monday night game in January 2023 at Cincinnati, causing the NFL to suspend a pivotal game that quickly lost significance in the aftermath of a scary scene that unfolded in front of a national television audience.
Tagovailoa’s history with concussions — and how he has since worked to avoid them — is a huge part of the story of his career, and now comes to the forefront once again.
He had at least two concussions during the 2022 season. He was hurt in a Week 3 game against Buffalo and cleared concussion protocol, though he appeared disoriented on that play but returned to the game.
The NFL later changed its concussion protocol to mandate that if a player shows possible concussion symptoms — including a lack of balance or stability — he must sit out the rest of the game.
Less than a week later, in a Thursday night game at Cincinnati, Tagovailoa was concussed on a scary hit that briefly knocked him unconscious and led to him being taken off the field on a stretcher.
His second known concussion of that season came in a December game against Green Bay, and he didn’t play for the rest of the 2022 season.
Going into last season, Tagovailoa added muscle and spent time studying jiu-jitsu in an effort to learn how to fall more safely and try to protect himself against further injury.
