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A flight performance model was used to analyze the range capability of fully electric and hybrid-electric aircraft powertrains to determine their implementation feasibility compared to a similarly sized traditionally powered reference aircraft. Range was calculated for a given mission using future Lithium-Ion battery technology predictions from the year 2030. To the authors’ knowledge, there are no known studies which attempt to predict future range capabilities of electrified aircraft using future battery technology predictions in this manner. Results showed that fully electric powertrains could achieve ranges of up to 30% of the selected reference aircraft range, while hybrid electric cases could achieve ranges of between 30% and 73% depending on the fuel volume and the energy distribution strategy. Fuel volume was found to be a major contributor to the overall range, due to its high energy density, which tends to dominate the battery capacities used in this study. Thus, hybrid electric results were also analyzed at one selected fuel volume to identify trends in other parameters. It was found that the range of hybrid electric powertrains could be improved by up to 3.3% utilizing the optimal degree of hybridization, and up to 37% utilizing the optimal energy distribution strategy, compared to the range of the baseline hybrid energy distribution method. These results suggest that battery capacity improvement and optimal energy distribution strategy development are key to improving the feasibility of implementing electrified light-sport aircraft into the aviation industry over the next ten years.

A theory-based aerodynamic model developed and applied to electrified powertrain configurations was intended to analyze the feasibility of implementing fully electric and serial hybrid electric propulsion in light-sport aircraft. The range was selected as the primary indicator of feasibility. A MATLAB/Simulink environment was utilized to create the models, involving the combination of proportional-integral-derivative controllers, aerodynamic properties of a reference aircraft, and powertrain limitations taken from off-the-shelf components. Simulations conducted by varying missions, batteries, fuel mass, and energy distribution methods provided results showcasing the feasibility of electrified propulsion with current technology. Results showed that the fully electric aircraft range was only 5% of a traditionally powered aircraft with current battery technology. Hybrid electric aircraft could achieve 44% of the range of a traditionally powered aircraft, but this result was found to be almost wholly related to fuel mass. Hybrid electric powertrains utilizing an energy distribution with their optimal degree of hybridization can achieve ranges up to 3% more than the same powertrain utilizing a different energy distribution. Results suggest that improvements in the power-to-weight ratio of the existing battery technology are required before electrified propulsion becomes a contender in the light-sport aircraft segment.