Flight School Perceptions of Electric Planes for Training

Authors: C. Edwards, P. Parker

Abstract:

Flight school members are facing a major disruption in the technologies available for them to fly as electric planes enter the aviation industry. The year 2020 marked a new era in aviation with the first type certification of an electric plane. The Pipistrel Velis Electro is a two-seat electric aircraft (e-plane) designed for flight training. Electric flight training has the potential to deeply reduce emissions, noise, and cost of pilot training. Though these are all attractive features, understanding must be developed on the perceptions of the essential actor of the technology, the pilot. This study asks student pilots, flight instructors, flight center managers, and other members of flight schools about their perceptions of e-planes. The questions were divided into three categories: safety and trust of the technology, expected costs in comparison to conventional planes, and interest in the technology, including their desire to fly electric planes. Participants were recruited from flight schools using a protocol approved by the Office of Research Ethics. None of these flight schools have an e-plane in their fleet so these views are based on perceptions rather than direct experience. The results revealed perceptions that were strongly positive with many qualitative comments indicating great excitement about the potential of the new electric aviation technology. Some concerns were raised regarding battery endurance limits. Overall, the flight school community is clearly in favor of introducing electric propulsion technology and reducing the environmental impacts of their industry.

Keywords: electric planes, flight training, green aircraft, student pilots, sustainable aviation

References:

[1] Ritchie, H. (2020). Sector by sector: where do global greenhouse gas emissions come from? Our World in Data. https://ourworldindata.org/ghg-emissions-by-sector.
[2] Ritchie, H. (2020). Climate change and flying: what share of global CO2 emissions come from aviation? Our World in Data. https://ourworldindata.org/co2-emissions-from-aviation.
[3] Future of Aviation. ICAO Uniting Aviation. (2020). https://www.icao.int/Meetings/FutureOfAviation/Pages/default.aspx#:~:text=Aviation%20provides%20the%20only%20rapid,facilitating%20international%20trade%20and%20tourism.&text=The%20most%20recent%20estimates%20suggest,over%20the%20next%2020%20years.
[4] Gnadt, A. R., Speth, R. L., Sabnis, J. S., & Barrett, S. R. (2019). Technical and environmental assessment of all-electric 180-passenger commercial aircraft. Progress in Aerospace Sciences, 105, 1-30. doi:10.1016/j.paerosci.2018.11.002.
[5] Moua, L., Roa, J., Xie, Y., & Maxwell, D. (2020). Critical Review of Advancements and Challenges of All-Electric Aviation. International Conference on Transportation and Development 2020. doi:10.1061/9780784483138.005
[6] Justin, C. Y., Payan, A. P., Briceno, S. I., German, B. J., & Mavris, D. N. (2020). Power optimized battery swap and recharge strategies for electric aircraft operations. Transportation Research Part C: Emerging Technologies, 115, 102605. doi:10.1016/j.trc.2020.02.027
[7] Borer, N. K., Nickol, C. L., Jones, F., Yasky, R., Woodham, K., Fell, J., . . . Samuel, A. (2016). Overcoming the Adoption Barrier to Electric Flight. 54th AIAA Aerospace Sciences Meeting. doi:10.2514/6.2016-1022
[8] Thapa, N., Ram, S., Kumar, S., & Mehta, J. (2021). All electric aircraft: A reality on its way. Materials Today: Proceedings. doi:10.1016/j.matpr.2020.11.611
[9] Velis Electro EASA TC. Pipistrel Aircraft. (n.d.). https://www.pipistrel-aircraft.com/aircraft/electric-flight/velis-electro-easa-tc/#tab-id-5. R. W. Lucky, “Automatic equalization for digital communication,” Bell Syst. Tech. J., vol. 44, no. 4, pp. 547–588, Apr. 1965
[10] EASA certifies electric aircraft, first type certification for fully electric plane world-wide. EASA. (2020, June 10). https://www.easa.europa.eu/newsroom-and-events/news/easa-certifies-electric-aircraft-first-type-certification-fully-electric.
[11] Data from: www.100ll.ca. (2021). http://www.100ll.ca/.
[12] U.S. energy Information administration - eia - independent statistics and analysis. Environment - U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) - U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). (2016). https://www.eia.gov/environment/emissions/co2_vol_mass.php
[13] Bienias, K., Kowalska-Pyzalska, A., &; Ramsey, D. (2020). What do people think about electric vehicles? An initial study of the opinions of car purchasers in Poland. Energy Reports, 6, 267–273. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.egyr.2019.08.055.
[14] Kester, J., Zarazua de Rubens, G., Sovacool, B. K., &; Noel, L. (2019). Public perceptions of electric vehicles and vehicle-to-grid (V2G): Insights from a Nordic focus group study. Transportation Research Part D: Transport and Environment, 74, 277–293. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trd.2019.08.006.
[15] Abacus Data: Canadians see electric vehicles becoming mainstream, soon. Abacus Data Inc. (2019). https://abacusdata.ca/canadians-see-electric-vehicles-becoming-mainstream-soon-environmental-fuel-cost-advantages-widely-perceived/.
[16] Han, H., Yu, J., &; Kim, W. (2019). An electric airplane: Assessing the effect of travelers' perceived risk, attitude, and new product knowledge. Journal of Air Transport Management, 78, 33–42. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jairtraman.2019.04.004.
[17] Electrification Aero Global: Survey Infographics. Ansys: Eyes on Greener Skies. (2020). https://www.ansys.com/content/dam/content-creators/creative/source-files/assets-for-mvp/news-center/electrification-aero-global-infographic.pdf.
[18] Tiseo, I. (2021, March 18). Most polluted countries 2020. Statista. https://www.statista.com/statistics/1135356/most-polluted-countries-in-the-world/#:~:text=Bangladesh%20had%20an%20average%20PM2,polluted%20country%20in%20the%20world.
[19] Climate ambition steady: Urgency to act now trending up. Positive Energy Nanos. (2021). https://nanos.co/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/2021-1809-Positive-Energy-Feb-Populated-report-Updated-with-Tabs.pdf.
[20] Charging the Spark. KPMG. (2021). https://assets.kpmg/content/dam/kpmg/ca/pdf/2021/03/charging-the-spark-kpmg-in-canada.pdf.
[21] Sarabia, L. (2020, November 14). Electric vehicle sales in Canada fell sharply in Q2 2020. Electric Autonomy Canada. https://electricautonomy.ca/2020/08/26/canadian-ev-sales-data-q2-2020/.
[22] Electric Vehicle Charging Station Map (Canada 2021). energyhub.org. (2021). https://www.energyhub.org/ev-map-canada/.
[23] Airport Carbon Accreditation. Airports & CO2 results - Home. (2021). https://airportco2.org/airports-across-the-world.html.
[24] Guardian News and Media. (2019, December 11). World's first fully electric commercial aircraft takes flight in Canada. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/dec/11/worlds-first-fully-electric-commercial-aircraft-takes-flight-in-canada.
[25] Data from: Government of Canada; Transport Canada; Civil Aviation; General Aviation; Aircraft Registration and Leasing; Canadian Civil Aircraft Register; General Aviation System; Civil Aviation System. (2020, April 28). CCAR - quick search. CCAR Web - Quick Search. https://wwwapps.tc.gc.ca/saf-sec-sur/2/ccarcs-riacc/RchSimp.aspx.
[26] Pearson, A. R., Ballew, M. T., Naiman, S., &; Schuldt, J. P. (2017). Race, class, gender and climate change communication. Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Climate Science. https://doi.org/10.1093/acrefore/9780190228620.013.412
[27] Stokes, B., Wike, R., & Carle, J. (2015). Global concern about climate change, broad support for limiting emissions. Pew Research Center. Retrieved from http://www.pewglobal.org/files/2015/11/Pew-Research-Center-Climate-Change-Report-FINAL-November-5-2015.pdf.
[28] McCright, A. M., & Sundström, A. (2013). Examining gender differences in environmental concern in the Swedish general public, 1990–2011. International Journal of Sociology, 43, 63–86
[29] Ballew, M., Marlon, J., Leiserowitz, A., & Maibach, E. (2018, December 12). Gender differences in public understanding of climate change. Yale Program on Climate Change Communication. https://climatecommunication.yale.edu/publications/gender-differences-in-public-understanding-of-climate-change.