The All-Electric Aircraft: A Systems View and Proposed NASA Research Programs

The previous papers have offered the distant vision of an all-electric aircraft-one which fully exploits the intrinsic features of electric power and electronic controls. This paper examines the path to that vision and the barriers along the way-some of which appear relatively easy to overcome while others are more formidable. It is interesting to conjecture what an all-electric aircraft will look like. The all-electric technologies may offer many design options and this paper suggests some tantalizing possibilities. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has sponsored or conducted a number of activities to foster the development of an all-electric airplane. The results of these activities are presented. Finally, in a look to the future, two NASA new initiatives are briefly discussed.