Are Electric Airplanes the Destiny of Skydiving?
By Augusto Bartelle
As reported on augustobartelle.com
Over the years, there have been teams working to create electric powered airplanes. Eco-friendly initiatives are present in many facets of our daily lives. Having the opportunity to choose energy sustainable options is becoming more and more popular. And for a good reason! Many of us are aware of our unique carbon footprint. If given the choice of more energy sustainable options, we can take the responsibility onto ourselves to make more environmentally friendly decisions.
Electric airplanes are the next significant movement in eco-friendly transportation options. Although not quite around the corner, this initiative is progressing along. So what can this mean for the skydiving industry? Can we use electric airplanes in skydiving?
Environmental Impact of Aviation
I never really thought about the impact of an airplane on our environment. Skydiving for me was about fun until I watched Pete Allum and Roei Ganzarski discussing the Electric Caravan. All regular aircraft emit greenhouse gases in different stages of flight. It creates a unique form of distribution of those gases directly into the higher levels of the atmosphere. These gases contribute to climate change.
Noise is also a form of pollution. All unwanted sound is considered noise pollution. If the noise is causing any adverse human reaction, we can consider it noise pollution. We can find noise impact analysis on areas close to airports and drop zones. Average noise level maps are known as noise counter maps.
The air quality is another point that we can think about when talking about the difference that an electric airplane has over the ordinary plane we use today. Airports have different obligations for monitoring and reporting air quality. The primary pollutants monitored are Nitrogen Dioxide (No2), Nitric Oxides (NOx), and Particulate Matter (PM). Heathrow airport has an air quality dedicated resource to allow us to access data on local air quality.
Eco-friendly airplanes and skydiving
As skydivers, we may or may not be aware of our skydiving activity’s impact on the environment. Each time the skydiving plane brings a load up, there are emissions released into the environment. In fact, some have figured out the math. Depending on the skydiving aircraft, they can calculate each jumper’s carbon emissions for that individual jump. When I heard this, I felt some guilt for my impact on the environment due to my skydiving. Although this knowledge does not mean that we need to stop jumping.
This is where eco-friendly airplanes come in. Electric planes help reduce carbon emissions. Now it seems the future of our sport may be a place with more eco-friendly options. Electric airplanes can be clean, low-cost choices of skydiving aircraft. And so in regards to skydiving, the idea is that electric airplanes would end up saving drop zone money in fuel costs. As a result, jump tickets could potentially be cheaper. As well as the aircraft would produce less noise, less vibration, and no fuel smell.
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What is a Carbon Footprint?
Carbon Footprint is the amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) and other greenhouse gases emitted due to fossil fuels’ consumption by a particular person, group, or activity. A Twin Otter aircraft consumes -86 gallons of jet fuel/hr. One gallon of burned jet fuel emits -19 lbs CO2 into the atmosphere. Using 20 minutes as an approximate flight time for one load of skydivers, one load would emit -545lbs CO2.
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