this post was submitted on 29 Jun 2025
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[–] nBodyProblem@lemmy.world 9 points 12 hours ago* (last edited 12 hours ago)

It’s absolutely not impossible. Airplanes are more efficient than drones, and efficiency grows with scale. Drones fly. Of course an airplane can do the same.

The problem is one of speed and range. The best form of propulsion we have for electric airplanes is the propeller, which has a lower top speed potential than a turbofan. The energy density of batteries is also lower.

Realistically, an electric airplane will have reduced range and speed compared to a modern jet.