Yes@goboygo1

@Spacedoge12345plane IKR? nerds 4 life.

Realengineering is a awesome Chanel@goboygo1

ooh! i saw a Real engineering video about this! i highly recommend it:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCR1IuLEqb6UEA_zQ81kwXfg

Cool@Notaleopard

I know right, but I saw it in Smithsonian Air & Space Magazine

@Spacedoge12345plane the Ion plane in the picture can only fly for a few sec but if it in space that more efficient
Aslo thats how a Tie fighter moves

I'm not saying it is bad. Of course it is great, mainly for high-altitude applications. This will allow us to have air-breathing satellites that orbit at much lower altitudes than currently possible.

@BACconcordepilot and there is still drag - the electrodes must be positioned in the airflow or else they won't work. And I wouldn't put much hope into performance of such engine when supersonic

@BACconcordepilot no propulsion method can achieve 100% efficiency. There are power losses in the voltage converter, there are power losses in the wires that power the engines themselves, there are power losses in the heat generated by the entire system (as minimal as it can be). And at a larger scale those factors would get even worse. What I think is the future of propulsion in aviation are biofuels. A jet engine running on biofuel will blow both electric motors and ion engines away when looking at the thrust-to-weight ratio

O.O tell me more@Notaleopard

I just visited that concept last november

That’s a good point@DerekSP

Indeed@BACconcordepilot

Nice concept, but I don't see it replacing electric engines. I mean, when you already have all of those batteries and electronics on board, just hook up a proven DC motor to it and you're good to go

Yes it is. @Spacedoge12345plane

Absolutely none. It launches ions from the control surfaces for propulsion@BACconcordepilot

Isn’t it amazing@Strikefighter04

I saw that on the news