Primarily for general aviation discussion, but other aviation topics are also welcome.
#1875322
AlanM wrote:The future - be it F1 racing, CAT or driving and home heating is gonna change. Whether we like it or not. Every major company has a huge Environmental slant now.


Whilst every major company might have a huge Environmental slant, I wonder what proportion are really just playing lip service to it for Political Correctness as they dont have the resources to fund it?

The change comes with huge cost, and major companies are likely to have a proportionately larger expenditure to cover related to covid delays, PPE costs, pay rises, ... whilst some might be struggling to deliver products at a fixed contractual price based on a pre-pandemic cost base.
Obviously cant simply pass on increased costs to customers as some customers are not getting any pay rises.... and struggling with the energy price rises... and most companies need customers that can still afford to buy the products/services.

As much as the environmentalists (the fun police?) dislike motor sports as a non-essential use of transport making lots of noise, burning lots of fuel, developing materials, and consuming lots of tyres etc, it is the motor sports teams such as in F1 and Formula E that are the ones that seem to obtain big budget investment that will drive the technology forwards to be used in domestic/commercial vehicles.

Surely some of the development is going to come from aviation although the big ticket customers are still going to be airlines and governments.
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By skydriller
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1875345
GAFlyer4Fun wrote:Whilst every major company might have a huge Environmental slant, I wonder what proportion are really just playing lip service to it for Political Correctness as they dont have the resources to fund it?


"Greenwashing" is the term used, as I have recently discovered.

I know its become even less fashionable since Covid, but people really need to step back and look outside of the UK, Europe and "navel gazing west" when it comes to Environmental impact. China. India. SE Asia. High density mainly poorly paid populations wanting modern well off lifestyles...Right Now.
By johnm
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1875347
The issue is a simple one we have to mitigate and adapt, mitigation essentially reduces the cost and effort involved in adaptation, but there's already no way to avoid doing both. Electrically powered drones may well be a way to reduce cost and complexity of airframes ( it's 40 years since I first heard avionics engineers railing against RAF officers who still wanted pilots in military aircraft) and improve delivery efficiency in remote areas.
By Rjk983
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1944415
From The Torygraph today.

Royal Mail drones fail to get off ground as strikes affect cashflow

ROYAL MAIL has shelved plans to use drones to deliver parcels as it reels from the financial impact of strikes.

The company has been trialling “postal drone routes” with plans to deploy 200 unmanned aerial vehicles to deliver mail across the UK over the next three years.

But sources said the scheme was struggling to get off the ground after a wave of disruptive strikes hammered the postal monopoly’s finances.

Over the summer Royal Mail warned it was losing £1m a day amid a dispute with postmen over pay and working conditions. Losses for the year between £350m and £450m are expected.

It is a major setback after telecoms regulator Ofcom on Friday said it would start issuing spectrum licences from January to allow commercial drones.
#1944561
I assume RM are still required to make flat rate deliveries to all UK addresses, I know they used to and as they still do, the requirement must be there.

RM have to suffer places like Orkneys etc, whereas all other couriers either charge a premium or don't bother. Drones potentially make sense and in a way, figuring it out somewhere like Orkneys also made sense, away from busy airspace.

I'd have thought it would have been worth pursuing this as any staff involved would be on new and different contracts to the old posties, and RM still need to deliver to these places.

As for the strikes, they are damn inconvienient to us regular users. I've got packets delayed by over 2 weeks now. :roll:
#1944562
Sooty25 wrote:I'd have thought it would have been worth pursuing this as any staff involved would be on new and different contracts to the old posties, and RM still need to deliver to these places.

I'd be interested in seeing the business case which shows the payback period on the capital investment and operational costs versus present methods of using existing flights and ferries. :D
#1944567
Miscellaneous wrote:
Sooty25 wrote:I'd have thought it would have been worth pursuing this as any staff involved would be on new and different contracts to the old posties, and RM still need to deliver to these places.

I'd be interested in seeing the business case which shows the payback period on the capital investment and operational costs versus present methods of using existing flights and ferries. :D


It makes sense to do a R&D project where there is an existing service as a back up!
#1944569
Sooty25 wrote:
Miscellaneous wrote:
Sooty25 wrote:I'd have thought it would have been worth pursuing this as any staff involved would be on new and different contracts to the old posties, and RM still need to deliver to these places.

I'd be interested in seeing the business case which shows the payback period on the capital investment and operational costs versus present methods of using existing flights and ferries. :D


It makes sense to do a R&D project where there is an existing service as a back up!

Only if the business case is sound (excluding hidden agendas :wink:).
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#1944596
Sooty25 wrote:RM have to suffer places like Orkneys etc, whereas all other couriers either charge a premium or don't bother.

RM have to serve places like Orkneys etc...
Fixed that for you.

And why would they not? Want a single monarchy covering all the British Isles? Then that's a just consequence.
#1944608
Well, the drone hub at Oban Airport, for which planning permission has recently been granted, will have to justify its existence somehow…

https://www.argyll-bute.gov.uk/news/202 ... es-project

https://www.argyll-bute.gov.uk/news/202 ... lestone-uk’s-first-drone-hub

PS it is interesting to note the planning application carried with it provision for hangarage for fixed wing aircraft in the event the drone business does not work out. :?
#1944990
Interesting that Windracer design in the OP is very reminiscent of Brunellis designs and looking at the payload to MTOW ratio for its power output is rather efficient

(It doesnt look it does it, compared to the sleek composite things we are used to)