Google Groups no longer supports new Usenet posts or subscriptions. Historical content remains viewable.
Dismiss
AUK startup developing electric plane that will carry passengers between London and Paris
0 views
Skip to first unread message
Larry Dighera
Mar 23, 2017, 8:38:11 AM3/23/17
to
http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-39350054
London-Paris electric flight 'in decade'
By Dave Lee
North America technology reporter
22 March 2017
A new start-up says it intends to offer an electric-powered commercial
flight from London to Paris in 10 years.
Its plane, yet to go into development, would carry 150 people on journeys of
less than 300 miles.
Wright Electric said by removing the need for jet fuel, the price of travel
could drop dramatically.
British low-cost airline Easyjet has expressed its interest in the
technology.
"Easyjet has had discussions with Wright Electric and is actively providing
an airline operator's perspective on the development of this exciting
technology," the airline told the BBC.
However, significant hurdles need to be overcome if Wright Electric is to
make the Wright One, pictured above, a reality.
The company is relying heavily on innovation in battery technology
continuing to improve at its current rate. If not, the firm will not be able
to build in enough power to give the plane the range it needs.
The company is yet to produce a plane of its own and is instead working
alongside American inventor Chip Yates, whose own electric aircraft, the
Long-ESA, holds the world record for fastest electric aircraft.
Wright Electric's competitors include aviation giant Airbus, which has been
developing its electric two-seater plane E-Fan since 2014, and has stated
plans to create its own short-haul electric aeroplane seating 70 to 90
passengers.
'Less loud'
Wright Electric is backed by Y Combinator, Silicon Valley's most
highly-regarded start-up incubator programme. Alumni of the scheme include
companies such as AirBnB, file storage company Dropbox and HR management
software firm Zenefits.
Wright Electric's goal, detailed in a presentation given to potential
investors on Tuesday, is to make all short-haul flights electric-powered
within the next 20 years, which would be about 30% of all flights made
globally.
The company said that as well as lower fuel costs for the airlines, the
technology could have a major added benefit for the public.
"Depending on how it's designed, you can have an electric plane that's
substantially less loud than a fuel plane," said Jeff Engler, Wright
Electric's co-founder.
Batteries would be charged separately, he said, meaning planes would not
have to sit on the tarmac while power is replenished.
"The way we've designed our plane is to have modular battery packs for quick
swap using the same cargo container that's in a regular airplane," Mr Engler
said.
"We want it to be as fast as possible, so airlines can keep their planes in
the air as long as possible and cover their costs."
Other technology start-ups are seeking to innovate within the aviation
industry.
Boom, a company backed by Sir Richard Branson, is developing a Concorde-like
supersonic jet. It hopes to achieve London to New York in three-and-a-half
hours, a journey which currently takes more than eight hours. It is expected
to run test flights later this year.
-------------------------------------
https://weflywright.com/
POSTED ONMARCH 12, 2017
Wright Weekly Weport Mar 12 2017
Dear all,
Welcome to the Wright Weekly Weport for March 12.
Summary
Customer progress on electric 150 seater!
Shifting resources – seeking guidance
All hands on deck for demo day
Customer Progress on Electric 150 Seater!
For the past few weeks, and largely thanks to the tenacity of you fantastic
weporters, Team Wright has been speaking with airlines about our electric
150-seater concept.
Good news: we’re excited to report we have a potential partnership with one
airline. Also: a high-net-worth-individual wants our electric 150-seater as
his fifth private jet. Woo hoo!
It’s all very new and fragile, but it’s like what startup guru Andy Swan
says about walking on ice: “When it’s slick, a tiny bit of momentum is all
you need.”
It cannot be overstated how crucial the weport community has been – Ian,
Blake, Darrell, Meghan, Judith, Raja, everyone else – thank you a million
times!
Shifting Resources – Seeking Guidance
With last week’s customer validation, we’re now shifting focus to the
electric 150-seater. We learned a lot diving into the 9-seater market, and
we think the 150-seater size is better for us. Here’s the thought process:
Enormous market. It almost goes without saying, but if we could make an
electric 150-seater, it would have a huge market. In 2016, Boeing and Airbus
sold 967 “narrow body” 737s/A320s. At $90m per plane, 967 x $90m = $87b
annual market. 30% of narrow body flights are < 300 miles (see chart #1
below). 30% x $87b = $26b. Adding in the regional jet market increases
market by up to 50%. And the market validation above gives us confidence
we’re on the right path.
Doable approach. Our design intentionally doesn’t require beyond-the-pale
technology assumptions.
Aero. We’re not inventing new wings or fuselage formats. Our airframe is
designed to comply with existing FAA regulations. The aero team has decades
of experience at places like Boeing Phantom Works and Cessna. They’ve
received numerous grants from NASA focusing specifically on electric planes.
If anyone can design a feasible plane, it’s these folks.
Batteries. As Bart wisely suggested, we’ve designed our battery st
rategy to be robust to different battery futures.
If batteries don’t get dramatically better in the next decade, we design our
plane as a hybrid with electric motors, like a Volt. It still has great cost
savings as compared to today’s planes, and it doesn’t require massive
battery advances.
If batteries do get a lot better in the next decade, our plane is
fully-electric and has fantastic cost savings. See chart #2 below; a
near-future jump to a chemistry like Li-Metal doesn’t seem beyond the realm
of possibility.
Amazing team. Our aero team has decades of experience in aircraft design,
electric planes, and certification. Our battery team has decades of
experience in battery design, battery manufacturing, and early stage startup
R&D. This is just about the best group of people one could imagine embarking
on a such a journey.
Chart #1: Flight Distribution of Planes
Source, Note: “Narrow Body” = 150 seater
Chart #2: Battery Advances
Source
For these reasons we’re confident about moving forward. But what do you
think? We’re speaking with folks at a demo day in a week (see below), and
your concerns will be an accurate reflection of their ones. What’s missing?
What are the obvious holes? What are the less obvious ones?
Feel free to write back with your gnarliest questions, and we’ll add them to
the preparation log. Thank you!
All Hands on Deck for Demo Day
We have a demo day presentation a week from Monday. We’re spending the next
eight days writing the script, adjusting the slides, polishing the website,
preparing the Q&A, etc. If you have any spare cycles and would be interested
in joining a small sub-group of weporter ninjas, let me know. We would be
super grateful!
Thank you in advance!
People
Adding one new rock star to the weport distribution list this week:
Josh Posamentier is managing partner at Congruent VC.
Thanks to Ben, Darold, Ian, Aaron, Joe, Doug, Jenn, Jared, Sam, Daniel,
Gustaf, Judith, Tara, Samir, Josh, Raja, George, Blake, Jude, Malay, Rachel,
Abigail, Ben, Hart, Bink, Damon, Nate, Jess, Ben, Kate, Blake, Rob, Soo,
Honora, Yev, Amira, and everyone else who helped out and/or sent over words
of encouragement this week.
And welcome to the folks from the website signup form. Feel free to drop me
a note and introduce yourself if you have a second.
Hope you’re having a great weekend!
Electrically,
Jeff
----------------------------------
https://weflywright.com/2017/01/
POSTED ONJANUARY 29, 2017
Wright Weekly Weport Jan 29 2017
Dear all,
Welcome to the Wright Weekly Weport for January 29.
*note: on Bink’s fantastic suggestion we’re trying something new: pictures!*
For most people reading this weport, flying is your biggest contributor to
global warming.
Inline image 1
The source article is here. You can calculate your personal carbon footprint
here.
Electric planes will ultimately beat out fuel planes, not only because of
global warming, but because they’ll be cheaper for consumers.
Solar is getting cheaper, while oil and natural gas are staying stagnant:
Batteries are getting cheaper:
Inline image 2
See more trends here, here, and here (thanks Tony!).
New technologies are expanding the boundaries of electric aviation.
There are already two-seat electric planes with 1/10th the fuel costs:
Inline image 5
Read more about the Alpha Electro here.
Plane designers are experimenting with approaches to reduce energy needs:
Read about ECO-150 here and D8 here.
Batteries are getting better:
Inline image 4
Read more about batteries here.
Battery experts are experimenting with approaches to improve energy density:
See more about axial stack aviation battery designs here.
Takeaway: the future of electric aviation is bright!
People
Adding two new rock stars to the weport distribution list this week. As
usual, you’re too humble to brag about yourselves, so I’ll do it for you:
Nancy Bsales is a sustainable aviation expert
Brandon Phillips is senior manager of air accounts at Expedia
Thanks to Chip, Doug, Bram, Brad, Noam, Daniel, Andy, Ben, Slava, Stan,
Andrew, Mom and Dad, George, Rich, Brandon, Scott, Bill, Matt, Jude, Jess,
Grandma, Katherine, Bink, Halle, Damon, Brien, Michael, Mary, Daniel,
Gustaf, Nancy, Abigail, Cal, Vicki, Jeanette, and everyone else who helped
out and/or sent over words of encouragement this week.
Welcome to the folks from the website signup form. Feel free to drop me a
note and introduce yourself if you have a second.
Lastly, photos of you awesome weporters with your holiday pendants:
From top to bottom: Vicki, Katherine, Weezy.
Hope you’re having a great weekend!
Electrically,
Jeff
PS: We really hope you’re enjoying these updates. But if at any time you’d
like to stop receiving them, please just do so here. No hard feelings — we
all understand inbox overload!
PPS: Wright song of the week: Schubert – Piano Impromptu Op. 90 No. 3 in
G-flat major, D.889
POSTED ONJANUARY 22, 2017
Wright Weekly Weport Jan 22 2017
Dear all,
Welcome to the Wright Weekly Weport for January 22.
Summary
Engineering for the Hybrid 9-Seater
Math for the Electric 150-Seater – seeking your feedback
Why we’re doing this: over a five year time horizon, planes account for more
global warming than all the cars on the world’s roads do
Primer: New to Wright Electric? Summary here; past weports here
Engineering for the Hybrid 9-Seater
Chip and Doug have started engineering the hybrid 9-seater. The first step
is determining the powertrain. There are numerous considerations, among
them:
The stock fuel engine spins at one speed, and the stock electric motor spins
at another speed.
We can custom design engines that spin at the same speed, but this adds cost
and schedule risk.
The engine and motor interact with propellers differently.
The engine changes power at higher altitude.
The FAA has specific rules about what constitutes a power source.
We’re evaluating a variety of configurations:
Putting the fuel engine and electric motor together on one propeller shaft.
Putting the fuel engine and electric motor on different propeller shafts.
Placing the engine / motor at the nose, or midway down the wing, or at the
wingtips, or elsewhere.
It’s fun because there are a million potential options, and we’re using a
combination of paper analyses and just-go-and-build-it to learn as quickly
as possible. Will keep you posted.
As always, if any of you have suggestions or ideas, we’re all ears.
Math for the Electric 150-Seater
We’re also studying the feasibility of an all-electric 150-seater (150E).
Figuring out the battery math for 150E is harder than what we’ve done
before. Typical 150-seaters, like the 737, are jets. Until now all Wright’s
analyses have been for propeller planes.
Propeller plane:
Propeller engines are measured in horsepower.
Horsepower can easily be converted to watts.
Batteries are measured in watt hours.
Converting horsepower to watts to watt hours is pretty straightforward.
Jet engine:
By contrast, jet engines are measured in thrust.
This means a first step of converting thrust to horsepower.
Converting thrust to horsepower requires knowing distance and time.
This makes the analysis dynamic, which makes it harder.
Luckily Noam has been leading a crack team of experts, and here’s our
initial analysis for peer review: link. (summary analysis starts at column
AB.)
The gist seems to be that a commercial plane is far away, but a
demonstrator, similar in principle to Solar Impulse, might be doable. A
demonstrator would be useful because we’d learn a ton about airframes,
batteries, etc.
Here’s why we think it could work:
Energy available:
A 737-800 has a max weight of 150,000 lbs. Empty weight is 75,000 lbs. We
need 25,000 lbs for people / bags. This leaves 50,000 lbs for batteries.
50,000 lbs of batteries at 200 wh/kg is 4.5 MWh of energy.
Energy needed:
A 737-800 needs about 30 MW of power for initial climb and 11MW for cruise,
at normal speed.
If we only have 4.5 MWh of energy, we’d quickly use up all our energy at
takeoff and never get anywhere.
But if we’re willing to slow down the plane a ton, we can potentially do an
entire 200 mile flight with 6 MWh (cell AQ4), which isn’t too far off from
the 4.5 MWh that we have.
We could potentially get there if we optimize the airframe and find / design
better batteries.
It’s important to note that this doesn’t factor in the “fuel” reserves that
the FAA requires. Adding in FAA reserves means another 5+ MWh of energy,
which immediately takes the math from a stretch to a pipe dream. So we’re
nowhere close to a commercial plane. But it’s a start.
So! We’re seeking your feedback. If you’d be willing to take a few minutes
and review the spreadsheet for ideas / errors / omissions, we’d be grateful.
Thank you very much in advance!
People
Adding five new rock stars to the weport distribution list this week. As
usual, you’re too humble to brag about yourselves, so I’ll do it for you:
Alex Bratianu runs De-Ice
Ron Hansen runs Mokulele Aiirlines
Benjamin Burditt is Managing Director at Princeton Strategic Advisors
George Burkhard is co-founder at Sinovia Technologies
Michael D’Angelo is co-founder at Arthena
Thanks to Noam, Daniel, Mike, Ray, Ian, Michael, Matt, Cal, Mark, Gene,
Bart, Bill, Andy, Rich, Izzy, Ralph, Mady, Chip, Penny, Jude, Jess,
Katherine, Doug, David, Jeanette, Bink, Blake, Dan, Neal, Eddie, Steve,
Nabil, Mary, Aaron, Halle, Bill, John, Marshall, Damon, and everyone else
who helped out and/or sent over words of encouragement this week.
And welcome to the folks from the website signup form. Feel free to drop me
a note and introduce yourself if you have a second.
Hope you’re having a great weekend.
Electrically,
Jeff
PS: We really hope you’re enjoying these updates. But if at any time you’d
like to stop receiving these, please just do so here. No hard feelings — we
all understand inbox overload!
PPS: Wright song of the week: Ratatat – Lex
POSTED ONJANUARY 15, 2017
Wright Weekly Weport Jan 15 2017
Dear all,
Welcome to the Wright Weekly Weport for January 15.
Request
Do you know people who have flown with and/or worked at Private Fly, Wheels
Up, Blade, JetSmarter, Surf Air, and/or Boutique Air?
Summary
The plane for “Uber for private jets”
All-electric Boeing-sized plane within 5 years
Primer: New to Wright Electric? Summary here; past weports here
The Plane for “Uber for Private Jets”
We’re testing the viability of our hybrid 9-seater in the fast-growing
“sharing economy” wing of the private plane market.
We’ve hypothesized that operators like JetSmarter, the “Uber for Private
Jets,” might like the cost savings associated with a hybrid drivetrain, plus
the green branding.
Does anyone know anyone who’s familiar with JetSmarter, Surf Air, Boutique
Air, Blade, Wheels Up, and/or Private Fly? Would you mind asking if they’d
be willing to have a 20 minute phone call? Thank you very much in advance!
All-Electric Boeing-sized Plane Within 5 Years
Crazy as it sounds, we’re starting to think about how we’d design an
all-electric Boeing-737-sized plane (“737E”) if we had to do so within five
years. Most aviation emissions are from big planes, so if we want to
eliminate aviation emissions, we have to make big electric planes.
We think two immediate goals are: (1) bring people together, and (2)
identify technical opportunities.
Bring people together
We’re not the first people to conceive of 737E.
We’d love to speak with everyone (1) who knows something about this problem
or (2) who’s interested in figuring it out.
Do you know someone who has expertise in large-scale aero, batteries, or
infrastructure? Would you mind asking them if they’d be willing to speak?
Do you know someone who’s looking for a big technical challenge? Send them
our way!
Have you read any relevant papers? We’d love to read them!
Second: Identify technical opportunities
There are a million challenges with making 737E. We want to identify the
highest-priority opportunities and begin to work at them.
Note: you amazing weporters got the ball rolling on this topic a few months
ago. See the exchange here. Next steps below.
The fundamental issue is we can’t fit enough electrons in today’s batteries
to power a 737 for a typical flight. There are three general ways we know of
to address this:
Approach 1: Make better batteries.
Approach 2: Making a plane that requires less energy to do the same job.
Approach 3: Modify the job so it requires less energy.
Here are a few ideas (building on Rich, Gene, Bart, Michael, Matt, Bill, and
Andy) to start the conversation:
Approach 3:
Short flights: Short flights use less fuel than long flights do. Three of
the world’s busiest routes are <300 miles. We can start by limiting our
plane to <300 mile flights + FAA reserves.
Note: As Matt points out, airplane companies have tried this in the past and
failed. We’re exploring anyway for now!
Limit luggage: We can reduce baggage capacity. This reduces weight, reducing
fuel burn. It also allows us to make a plane with a more aerodynamic shape.
Reduce speed: Slower speeds reduce energy consumption. For a short flight,
an extra 10 minutes might not make a difference to an airline.
New configurations: Can we design the interior to fit more people with less
space, and therefore smaller size?
Approach 2:
BLI: MIT’s Double Bubble promises up to 70% fuel savings by using boundary
layer ingestion and other aerodynamic improvements.
Strut-braced wings: The highest drag at takeoff is induced drag. Longer
wings reduce induced drag. What if we had a 737 with the wingspan of a 747?
Gliders: The best gliders have a 60:1 glide ratio. For every mile they can
glide 60. Can 737E have a 60:1 glide ratio? If our goal is 300 miles, we’d
only need to be 5 miles in the air to glide to our destination.
Takeoff assist: Jets get takeoff assist. Why can’t there be a version for
commercial aviation with lower G forces?
Approach 1:
Structural battery: Can we make an airframe that’s also a battery?
Bipolar axial stack batteries: Many in the industry are skeptical, but can
bipolar batteries fill up a wing?
Is there a material out there that could function as a lightweight solid
electrolyte for this application?
Wireless charging: Can we charge our plane as it flies?
In-air battery swap: Some planes are refueled midair. Can ours?
Fuel cells: Are fuel cells or CNG things we should be considering?
Chemistries: People have been working on next generation batteries for
decades. Are any new chemistries particularly good for electric aviation?
Our hope is to start narrowing these challenges to a few key areas of
opportunity. Here are three potentials:
Lightweight solid electrolyte.
Ultra-efficient takeoff / climb.
Large-scale wing battery manufacturing.
What do you think the key opportunities are? Know anyone working on them?
Thanks everyone! Super excited to get the ball rolling!
People
Adding three new rock stars to the weport distribution list this week. As
usual, you’re too humble to brag about yourselves, so I’ll do it for you:
Damon Meyer is a private pilot and Deloitte director
Cal Brooks is an aerospace master’s student at MIT
Jeanette Mellinger is a user research expert
Thanks to Jason, Mike, Michael, Matt, Cal, Mark, Gene, Bart, Bill, Andy,
Rich, Izzy, Ralph, Mady, Chip, Doug, David, Tivan, Rachel, Blake, Jeanette,
Daniel, Amy, Ralph, Scott, Damon, Abigail, Cal, and everyone else who helped
out and/or sent over words of encouragement this week.
And welcome to everyone from the website signup form! Feel free to drop me a
note and introduce yourself if you have a second!
Electrically,
Jeff
PS: We really hope you’re enjoying these updates. But if at any time you’d
like to stop receiving these, please just do so here. No hard feelings — we
all understand inbox overload!
PPS: Wright song of the week: Edith Piaf – La Vie en Rose
POSTED ONJANUARY 7, 2017
Wright Weekly Weport Jan 7 2017
Dear all,
Welcome to the Happy New Year edition of the Wright Weekly Weport.
Request
Do you know any private plane flyers? Would you mind asking them if they’d
be willing to speak with us?
Summary
Past Month Redux
Finding Earlyvangelists
Private Plane Flyers
Around the Wuniverse — Focus on Ralph P
Primer: New to Wright Electric? Summary here; past weports here
Needless to say, if you have any thoughts / comments / feedback on anything
below, we’re all ears.
Past Month Redux
As many of you know, we’ve spent the past few weeks testing out our current
plane configuration. At its core it’s a 9-seater like the PC-12, but a
little slower / cheaper (“low-end disruption”).
The overarching goal of the past month was to figure out: is this plane
possible, and will people love (or at least want) it?
(1) Science: We started with the science — can this plane be built using
available technology?
Our initial calculations point to yes. Now we’re running deeper calculations
and building physical risk reduction ground test articles to address the key
engineering challenges.
(2) Regulation: Next we moved to regulation — can this plane be certified?
Our initial research points to yes. The FAA recently rewrote the rules
associated with our plane’s certification pathway (known as Part 23).
They’re in the process of writing specific guidelines around electric
propulsion planes.
(3) Business: Next we tested the value proposition — can we calculate a
sufficiently large ROI for a sufficiently large number of customers, given
macro industry patterns?
Our initial research point to yes. Wright’s plane will work best on <300
mile routes, where the advantages of a jet’s high speed can’t be fully
realized. A slower plane with lower fuel consumption should make a
difference to cost-sensitive customers in this segment.
Analyses from Ralph N and Noah demonstrate that (1) up to 40% of private jet
flights are <300 miles, and (2) up to 70% of PC-12 flights are <300 miles.
This means our value proposition would work for a sufficiently high portion
of customers.
Business Jet Distribution, October 2016
Inline image 2
PC-12 Distribution, One Week in October 2016
Inline image 3
Further, we also confirmed with third-party research that consumers are
highly price-sensitive when buying plane tickets. And charter operators have
told us that price is a major factor even at the high end of the market.
This means if we can lower prices, even a little, our plane should have
appeal.
At that point we were starting to feel comfortable that our plane had appeal
at a high level. Using the language of the Technology Adoption Lifecycle, it
looked like there could be adoption from the “pragmatists,” “conservatives,”
and “laggards”.
But getting to the mass market happens only if we find people to act as
first customers. We needed not theoretical business justification but
specific people who would act as early adopters — also known as
“earlyvangelists”.
Finding Earlyvangelists
We believe our plane will work best in three market segments: (1) commuter
airlines, (2) business aviation operators, and (3) individual private
flyers.
Continuing the thread above, our next step was talking with these potential
customers to find our early adopters. Early adopters are a rare breed — they
have to be so enthusiastic that they’re willing to put up with the inherent
hassles of a new product. As Steve Blank explains, these “earlyvangelists”
have to meet five criteria:
Inline image 4
We started with commuter airlines. We spoke with one of our (amazing)
long-standing partners and confirmed that our plane, which is to be faster
than their existing plane, positions them for future growth.
Excerpt from NASA Electric Plane Conference Presentation March 2016
Inline image 5
Next we spoke with business aviation operators on the East Coast and West
Coast. We confirmed that our plane works within their business models, too.
Our next step is building a detailed ROI model for them to evaluate.
This leaves our third segment: individual private flyers.
Private Plane Flyers
We’re focusing now on our third market segment, individual private flyers.
What we’ve learned so far is while cost economics are a good selling point
for an airline, they’re not a sufficient one for private flyers.
We have to inspire — we have to become more than just a plane. As one
private flyer delicately put it, Wright would be “DOA — Dead on Arrival” if
all we talked about was fuel burn.
So! We’re working on various ways to do this. And we’d love to test our
concepts with private flyers. Why do people fly private? What do they care
about? Which of the things we’re considering do you like, and which are a
waste of time?
We’re looking for private flyers for a 20 minute conversation. Does anyone
know anyone who might be willing to speak? NetJets in particular is a goal.
All ideas welcome. Thanks a lot in advance (and for making it this far in
the weport!).
Around the Wuniverse — Focus on Ralph P
Around the Wuniverse is the weport’s opportunity to highlight the happenings
of you awesome Weporters. This week’s Around the Wuniverse:
Congratulations to Ralph P on his company’s technology being featured in a
major Sunday Review op-ed in the New York Times!
People
Adding five new rock stars to the weport distribution list this week. As
usual, you’re too humble to brag about yourselves, so I’ll do it for you:
Tivan Amour runs Fortified Bicycle
Ryan Dick is a Senior Software Engineer at Instacart
Jialu Chen is a student at Stanford GSB
Dan Kuebrich is on the product team at SolarWinds
Madelaine D’Angelo runs Arthena
Thanks to Brad, Jason, Mike, Kristen, Raja, mom and dad, Jacqui, Daniel,
Jess, Rachel, Tony, Sarah, Scott, Andrew, Kevin, grandma, MRod, Jeremie,
Michael, Ralph P, Noah, Jim, Chip, Doug, Bram, Ralph N, Noam, Eli, Ian,
Bram, Mary, Dan, Bennett, Rob, Soo, George, and everyone else who helped out
and/or sent over words of encouragement this week.
Lastly, here’s a fantastic photo of Jim with his Wright holiday gift:
Inline image 6
We still have a few extras, so send over your address if you’d like one too.
Hope you’re having a great weekend!
Electrically,
Jeff
PS: We really hope you’re enjoying these updates. But if at any time you’d
like to stop receiving these, please just do so here. No hard feelings — we
all understand inbox overload!
London-Paris electric flight 'in decade'
By Dave Lee
North America technology reporter
22 March 2017
A new start-up says it intends to offer an electric-powered commercial
flight from London to Paris in 10 years.
Its plane, yet to go into development, would carry 150 people on journeys of
less than 300 miles.
Wright Electric said by removing the need for jet fuel, the price of travel
could drop dramatically.
British low-cost airline Easyjet has expressed its interest in the
technology.
"Easyjet has had discussions with Wright Electric and is actively providing
an airline operator's perspective on the development of this exciting
technology," the airline told the BBC.
However, significant hurdles need to be overcome if Wright Electric is to
make the Wright One, pictured above, a reality.
The company is relying heavily on innovation in battery technology
continuing to improve at its current rate. If not, the firm will not be able
to build in enough power to give the plane the range it needs.
The company is yet to produce a plane of its own and is instead working
alongside American inventor Chip Yates, whose own electric aircraft, the
Long-ESA, holds the world record for fastest electric aircraft.
Wright Electric's competitors include aviation giant Airbus, which has been
developing its electric two-seater plane E-Fan since 2014, and has stated
plans to create its own short-haul electric aeroplane seating 70 to 90
passengers.
'Less loud'
Wright Electric is backed by Y Combinator, Silicon Valley's most
highly-regarded start-up incubator programme. Alumni of the scheme include
companies such as AirBnB, file storage company Dropbox and HR management
software firm Zenefits.
Wright Electric's goal, detailed in a presentation given to potential
investors on Tuesday, is to make all short-haul flights electric-powered
within the next 20 years, which would be about 30% of all flights made
globally.
The company said that as well as lower fuel costs for the airlines, the
technology could have a major added benefit for the public.
"Depending on how it's designed, you can have an electric plane that's
substantially less loud than a fuel plane," said Jeff Engler, Wright
Electric's co-founder.
Batteries would be charged separately, he said, meaning planes would not
have to sit on the tarmac while power is replenished.
"The way we've designed our plane is to have modular battery packs for quick
swap using the same cargo container that's in a regular airplane," Mr Engler
said.
"We want it to be as fast as possible, so airlines can keep their planes in
the air as long as possible and cover their costs."
Other technology start-ups are seeking to innovate within the aviation
industry.
Boom, a company backed by Sir Richard Branson, is developing a Concorde-like
supersonic jet. It hopes to achieve London to New York in three-and-a-half
hours, a journey which currently takes more than eight hours. It is expected
to run test flights later this year.
-------------------------------------
https://weflywright.com/
POSTED ONMARCH 12, 2017
Wright Weekly Weport Mar 12 2017
Dear all,
Welcome to the Wright Weekly Weport for March 12.
Summary
Customer progress on electric 150 seater!
Shifting resources – seeking guidance
All hands on deck for demo day
Customer Progress on Electric 150 Seater!
For the past few weeks, and largely thanks to the tenacity of you fantastic
weporters, Team Wright has been speaking with airlines about our electric
150-seater concept.
Good news: we’re excited to report we have a potential partnership with one
airline. Also: a high-net-worth-individual wants our electric 150-seater as
his fifth private jet. Woo hoo!
It’s all very new and fragile, but it’s like what startup guru Andy Swan
says about walking on ice: “When it’s slick, a tiny bit of momentum is all
you need.”
It cannot be overstated how crucial the weport community has been – Ian,
Blake, Darrell, Meghan, Judith, Raja, everyone else – thank you a million
times!
Shifting Resources – Seeking Guidance
With last week’s customer validation, we’re now shifting focus to the
electric 150-seater. We learned a lot diving into the 9-seater market, and
we think the 150-seater size is better for us. Here’s the thought process:
Enormous market. It almost goes without saying, but if we could make an
electric 150-seater, it would have a huge market. In 2016, Boeing and Airbus
sold 967 “narrow body” 737s/A320s. At $90m per plane, 967 x $90m = $87b
annual market. 30% of narrow body flights are < 300 miles (see chart #1
below). 30% x $87b = $26b. Adding in the regional jet market increases
market by up to 50%. And the market validation above gives us confidence
we’re on the right path.
Doable approach. Our design intentionally doesn’t require beyond-the-pale
technology assumptions.
Aero. We’re not inventing new wings or fuselage formats. Our airframe is
designed to comply with existing FAA regulations. The aero team has decades
of experience at places like Boeing Phantom Works and Cessna. They’ve
received numerous grants from NASA focusing specifically on electric planes.
If anyone can design a feasible plane, it’s these folks.
Batteries. As Bart wisely suggested, we’ve designed our battery st
rategy to be robust to different battery futures.
If batteries don’t get dramatically better in the next decade, we design our
plane as a hybrid with electric motors, like a Volt. It still has great cost
savings as compared to today’s planes, and it doesn’t require massive
battery advances.
If batteries do get a lot better in the next decade, our plane is
fully-electric and has fantastic cost savings. See chart #2 below; a
near-future jump to a chemistry like Li-Metal doesn’t seem beyond the realm
of possibility.
Amazing team. Our aero team has decades of experience in aircraft design,
electric planes, and certification. Our battery team has decades of
experience in battery design, battery manufacturing, and early stage startup
R&D. This is just about the best group of people one could imagine embarking
on a such a journey.
Chart #1: Flight Distribution of Planes
Source, Note: “Narrow Body” = 150 seater
Chart #2: Battery Advances
Source
For these reasons we’re confident about moving forward. But what do you
think? We’re speaking with folks at a demo day in a week (see below), and
your concerns will be an accurate reflection of their ones. What’s missing?
What are the obvious holes? What are the less obvious ones?
Feel free to write back with your gnarliest questions, and we’ll add them to
the preparation log. Thank you!
All Hands on Deck for Demo Day
We have a demo day presentation a week from Monday. We’re spending the next
eight days writing the script, adjusting the slides, polishing the website,
preparing the Q&A, etc. If you have any spare cycles and would be interested
in joining a small sub-group of weporter ninjas, let me know. We would be
super grateful!
Thank you in advance!
People
Adding one new rock star to the weport distribution list this week:
Josh Posamentier is managing partner at Congruent VC.
Thanks to Ben, Darold, Ian, Aaron, Joe, Doug, Jenn, Jared, Sam, Daniel,
Gustaf, Judith, Tara, Samir, Josh, Raja, George, Blake, Jude, Malay, Rachel,
Abigail, Ben, Hart, Bink, Damon, Nate, Jess, Ben, Kate, Blake, Rob, Soo,
Honora, Yev, Amira, and everyone else who helped out and/or sent over words
of encouragement this week.
And welcome to the folks from the website signup form. Feel free to drop me
a note and introduce yourself if you have a second.
Hope you’re having a great weekend!
Electrically,
Jeff
----------------------------------
https://weflywright.com/2017/01/
POSTED ONJANUARY 29, 2017
Wright Weekly Weport Jan 29 2017
Dear all,
Welcome to the Wright Weekly Weport for January 29.
*note: on Bink’s fantastic suggestion we’re trying something new: pictures!*
For most people reading this weport, flying is your biggest contributor to
global warming.
Inline image 1
The source article is here. You can calculate your personal carbon footprint
here.
Electric planes will ultimately beat out fuel planes, not only because of
global warming, but because they’ll be cheaper for consumers.
Solar is getting cheaper, while oil and natural gas are staying stagnant:
Batteries are getting cheaper:
Inline image 2
See more trends here, here, and here (thanks Tony!).
New technologies are expanding the boundaries of electric aviation.
There are already two-seat electric planes with 1/10th the fuel costs:
Inline image 5
Read more about the Alpha Electro here.
Plane designers are experimenting with approaches to reduce energy needs:
Read about ECO-150 here and D8 here.
Batteries are getting better:
Inline image 4
Read more about batteries here.
Battery experts are experimenting with approaches to improve energy density:
See more about axial stack aviation battery designs here.
Takeaway: the future of electric aviation is bright!
People
Adding two new rock stars to the weport distribution list this week. As
usual, you’re too humble to brag about yourselves, so I’ll do it for you:
Nancy Bsales is a sustainable aviation expert
Brandon Phillips is senior manager of air accounts at Expedia
Thanks to Chip, Doug, Bram, Brad, Noam, Daniel, Andy, Ben, Slava, Stan,
Andrew, Mom and Dad, George, Rich, Brandon, Scott, Bill, Matt, Jude, Jess,
Grandma, Katherine, Bink, Halle, Damon, Brien, Michael, Mary, Daniel,
Gustaf, Nancy, Abigail, Cal, Vicki, Jeanette, and everyone else who helped
out and/or sent over words of encouragement this week.
Welcome to the folks from the website signup form. Feel free to drop me a
note and introduce yourself if you have a second.
Lastly, photos of you awesome weporters with your holiday pendants:
From top to bottom: Vicki, Katherine, Weezy.
Hope you’re having a great weekend!
Electrically,
Jeff
PS: We really hope you’re enjoying these updates. But if at any time you’d
like to stop receiving them, please just do so here. No hard feelings — we
all understand inbox overload!
PPS: Wright song of the week: Schubert – Piano Impromptu Op. 90 No. 3 in
G-flat major, D.889
POSTED ONJANUARY 22, 2017
Wright Weekly Weport Jan 22 2017
Dear all,
Welcome to the Wright Weekly Weport for January 22.
Summary
Engineering for the Hybrid 9-Seater
Math for the Electric 150-Seater – seeking your feedback
Why we’re doing this: over a five year time horizon, planes account for more
global warming than all the cars on the world’s roads do
Primer: New to Wright Electric? Summary here; past weports here
Engineering for the Hybrid 9-Seater
Chip and Doug have started engineering the hybrid 9-seater. The first step
is determining the powertrain. There are numerous considerations, among
them:
The stock fuel engine spins at one speed, and the stock electric motor spins
at another speed.
We can custom design engines that spin at the same speed, but this adds cost
and schedule risk.
The engine and motor interact with propellers differently.
The engine changes power at higher altitude.
The FAA has specific rules about what constitutes a power source.
We’re evaluating a variety of configurations:
Putting the fuel engine and electric motor together on one propeller shaft.
Putting the fuel engine and electric motor on different propeller shafts.
Placing the engine / motor at the nose, or midway down the wing, or at the
wingtips, or elsewhere.
It’s fun because there are a million potential options, and we’re using a
combination of paper analyses and just-go-and-build-it to learn as quickly
as possible. Will keep you posted.
As always, if any of you have suggestions or ideas, we’re all ears.
Math for the Electric 150-Seater
We’re also studying the feasibility of an all-electric 150-seater (150E).
Figuring out the battery math for 150E is harder than what we’ve done
before. Typical 150-seaters, like the 737, are jets. Until now all Wright’s
analyses have been for propeller planes.
Propeller plane:
Propeller engines are measured in horsepower.
Horsepower can easily be converted to watts.
Batteries are measured in watt hours.
Converting horsepower to watts to watt hours is pretty straightforward.
Jet engine:
By contrast, jet engines are measured in thrust.
This means a first step of converting thrust to horsepower.
Converting thrust to horsepower requires knowing distance and time.
This makes the analysis dynamic, which makes it harder.
Luckily Noam has been leading a crack team of experts, and here’s our
initial analysis for peer review: link. (summary analysis starts at column
AB.)
The gist seems to be that a commercial plane is far away, but a
demonstrator, similar in principle to Solar Impulse, might be doable. A
demonstrator would be useful because we’d learn a ton about airframes,
batteries, etc.
Here’s why we think it could work:
Energy available:
A 737-800 has a max weight of 150,000 lbs. Empty weight is 75,000 lbs. We
need 25,000 lbs for people / bags. This leaves 50,000 lbs for batteries.
50,000 lbs of batteries at 200 wh/kg is 4.5 MWh of energy.
Energy needed:
A 737-800 needs about 30 MW of power for initial climb and 11MW for cruise,
at normal speed.
If we only have 4.5 MWh of energy, we’d quickly use up all our energy at
takeoff and never get anywhere.
But if we’re willing to slow down the plane a ton, we can potentially do an
entire 200 mile flight with 6 MWh (cell AQ4), which isn’t too far off from
the 4.5 MWh that we have.
We could potentially get there if we optimize the airframe and find / design
better batteries.
It’s important to note that this doesn’t factor in the “fuel” reserves that
the FAA requires. Adding in FAA reserves means another 5+ MWh of energy,
which immediately takes the math from a stretch to a pipe dream. So we’re
nowhere close to a commercial plane. But it’s a start.
So! We’re seeking your feedback. If you’d be willing to take a few minutes
and review the spreadsheet for ideas / errors / omissions, we’d be grateful.
Thank you very much in advance!
People
Adding five new rock stars to the weport distribution list this week. As
usual, you’re too humble to brag about yourselves, so I’ll do it for you:
Alex Bratianu runs De-Ice
Ron Hansen runs Mokulele Aiirlines
Benjamin Burditt is Managing Director at Princeton Strategic Advisors
George Burkhard is co-founder at Sinovia Technologies
Michael D’Angelo is co-founder at Arthena
Thanks to Noam, Daniel, Mike, Ray, Ian, Michael, Matt, Cal, Mark, Gene,
Bart, Bill, Andy, Rich, Izzy, Ralph, Mady, Chip, Penny, Jude, Jess,
Katherine, Doug, David, Jeanette, Bink, Blake, Dan, Neal, Eddie, Steve,
Nabil, Mary, Aaron, Halle, Bill, John, Marshall, Damon, and everyone else
who helped out and/or sent over words of encouragement this week.
And welcome to the folks from the website signup form. Feel free to drop me
a note and introduce yourself if you have a second.
Hope you’re having a great weekend.
Electrically,
Jeff
PS: We really hope you’re enjoying these updates. But if at any time you’d
like to stop receiving these, please just do so here. No hard feelings — we
all understand inbox overload!
PPS: Wright song of the week: Ratatat – Lex
POSTED ONJANUARY 15, 2017
Wright Weekly Weport Jan 15 2017
Dear all,
Welcome to the Wright Weekly Weport for January 15.
Request
Do you know people who have flown with and/or worked at Private Fly, Wheels
Up, Blade, JetSmarter, Surf Air, and/or Boutique Air?
Summary
The plane for “Uber for private jets”
All-electric Boeing-sized plane within 5 years
Primer: New to Wright Electric? Summary here; past weports here
The Plane for “Uber for Private Jets”
We’re testing the viability of our hybrid 9-seater in the fast-growing
“sharing economy” wing of the private plane market.
We’ve hypothesized that operators like JetSmarter, the “Uber for Private
Jets,” might like the cost savings associated with a hybrid drivetrain, plus
the green branding.
Does anyone know anyone who’s familiar with JetSmarter, Surf Air, Boutique
Air, Blade, Wheels Up, and/or Private Fly? Would you mind asking if they’d
be willing to have a 20 minute phone call? Thank you very much in advance!
All-Electric Boeing-sized Plane Within 5 Years
Crazy as it sounds, we’re starting to think about how we’d design an
all-electric Boeing-737-sized plane (“737E”) if we had to do so within five
years. Most aviation emissions are from big planes, so if we want to
eliminate aviation emissions, we have to make big electric planes.
We think two immediate goals are: (1) bring people together, and (2)
identify technical opportunities.
Bring people together
We’re not the first people to conceive of 737E.
We’d love to speak with everyone (1) who knows something about this problem
or (2) who’s interested in figuring it out.
Do you know someone who has expertise in large-scale aero, batteries, or
infrastructure? Would you mind asking them if they’d be willing to speak?
Do you know someone who’s looking for a big technical challenge? Send them
our way!
Have you read any relevant papers? We’d love to read them!
Second: Identify technical opportunities
There are a million challenges with making 737E. We want to identify the
highest-priority opportunities and begin to work at them.
Note: you amazing weporters got the ball rolling on this topic a few months
ago. See the exchange here. Next steps below.
The fundamental issue is we can’t fit enough electrons in today’s batteries
to power a 737 for a typical flight. There are three general ways we know of
to address this:
Approach 1: Make better batteries.
Approach 2: Making a plane that requires less energy to do the same job.
Approach 3: Modify the job so it requires less energy.
Here are a few ideas (building on Rich, Gene, Bart, Michael, Matt, Bill, and
Andy) to start the conversation:
Approach 3:
Short flights: Short flights use less fuel than long flights do. Three of
the world’s busiest routes are <300 miles. We can start by limiting our
plane to <300 mile flights + FAA reserves.
Note: As Matt points out, airplane companies have tried this in the past and
failed. We’re exploring anyway for now!
Limit luggage: We can reduce baggage capacity. This reduces weight, reducing
fuel burn. It also allows us to make a plane with a more aerodynamic shape.
Reduce speed: Slower speeds reduce energy consumption. For a short flight,
an extra 10 minutes might not make a difference to an airline.
New configurations: Can we design the interior to fit more people with less
space, and therefore smaller size?
Approach 2:
BLI: MIT’s Double Bubble promises up to 70% fuel savings by using boundary
layer ingestion and other aerodynamic improvements.
Strut-braced wings: The highest drag at takeoff is induced drag. Longer
wings reduce induced drag. What if we had a 737 with the wingspan of a 747?
Gliders: The best gliders have a 60:1 glide ratio. For every mile they can
glide 60. Can 737E have a 60:1 glide ratio? If our goal is 300 miles, we’d
only need to be 5 miles in the air to glide to our destination.
Takeoff assist: Jets get takeoff assist. Why can’t there be a version for
commercial aviation with lower G forces?
Approach 1:
Structural battery: Can we make an airframe that’s also a battery?
Bipolar axial stack batteries: Many in the industry are skeptical, but can
bipolar batteries fill up a wing?
Is there a material out there that could function as a lightweight solid
electrolyte for this application?
Wireless charging: Can we charge our plane as it flies?
In-air battery swap: Some planes are refueled midair. Can ours?
Fuel cells: Are fuel cells or CNG things we should be considering?
Chemistries: People have been working on next generation batteries for
decades. Are any new chemistries particularly good for electric aviation?
Our hope is to start narrowing these challenges to a few key areas of
opportunity. Here are three potentials:
Lightweight solid electrolyte.
Ultra-efficient takeoff / climb.
Large-scale wing battery manufacturing.
What do you think the key opportunities are? Know anyone working on them?
Thanks everyone! Super excited to get the ball rolling!
People
Adding three new rock stars to the weport distribution list this week. As
usual, you’re too humble to brag about yourselves, so I’ll do it for you:
Damon Meyer is a private pilot and Deloitte director
Cal Brooks is an aerospace master’s student at MIT
Jeanette Mellinger is a user research expert
Thanks to Jason, Mike, Michael, Matt, Cal, Mark, Gene, Bart, Bill, Andy,
Rich, Izzy, Ralph, Mady, Chip, Doug, David, Tivan, Rachel, Blake, Jeanette,
Daniel, Amy, Ralph, Scott, Damon, Abigail, Cal, and everyone else who helped
out and/or sent over words of encouragement this week.
And welcome to everyone from the website signup form! Feel free to drop me a
note and introduce yourself if you have a second!
Electrically,
Jeff
PS: We really hope you’re enjoying these updates. But if at any time you’d
like to stop receiving these, please just do so here. No hard feelings — we
all understand inbox overload!
PPS: Wright song of the week: Edith Piaf – La Vie en Rose
POSTED ONJANUARY 7, 2017
Wright Weekly Weport Jan 7 2017
Dear all,
Welcome to the Happy New Year edition of the Wright Weekly Weport.
Request
Do you know any private plane flyers? Would you mind asking them if they’d
be willing to speak with us?
Summary
Past Month Redux
Finding Earlyvangelists
Private Plane Flyers
Around the Wuniverse — Focus on Ralph P
Primer: New to Wright Electric? Summary here; past weports here
Needless to say, if you have any thoughts / comments / feedback on anything
below, we’re all ears.
Past Month Redux
As many of you know, we’ve spent the past few weeks testing out our current
plane configuration. At its core it’s a 9-seater like the PC-12, but a
little slower / cheaper (“low-end disruption”).
The overarching goal of the past month was to figure out: is this plane
possible, and will people love (or at least want) it?
(1) Science: We started with the science — can this plane be built using
available technology?
Our initial calculations point to yes. Now we’re running deeper calculations
and building physical risk reduction ground test articles to address the key
engineering challenges.
(2) Regulation: Next we moved to regulation — can this plane be certified?
Our initial research points to yes. The FAA recently rewrote the rules
associated with our plane’s certification pathway (known as Part 23).
They’re in the process of writing specific guidelines around electric
propulsion planes.
(3) Business: Next we tested the value proposition — can we calculate a
sufficiently large ROI for a sufficiently large number of customers, given
macro industry patterns?
Our initial research point to yes. Wright’s plane will work best on <300
mile routes, where the advantages of a jet’s high speed can’t be fully
realized. A slower plane with lower fuel consumption should make a
difference to cost-sensitive customers in this segment.
Analyses from Ralph N and Noah demonstrate that (1) up to 40% of private jet
flights are <300 miles, and (2) up to 70% of PC-12 flights are <300 miles.
This means our value proposition would work for a sufficiently high portion
of customers.
Business Jet Distribution, October 2016
Inline image 2
PC-12 Distribution, One Week in October 2016
Inline image 3
Further, we also confirmed with third-party research that consumers are
highly price-sensitive when buying plane tickets. And charter operators have
told us that price is a major factor even at the high end of the market.
This means if we can lower prices, even a little, our plane should have
appeal.
At that point we were starting to feel comfortable that our plane had appeal
at a high level. Using the language of the Technology Adoption Lifecycle, it
looked like there could be adoption from the “pragmatists,” “conservatives,”
and “laggards”.
But getting to the mass market happens only if we find people to act as
first customers. We needed not theoretical business justification but
specific people who would act as early adopters — also known as
“earlyvangelists”.
Finding Earlyvangelists
We believe our plane will work best in three market segments: (1) commuter
airlines, (2) business aviation operators, and (3) individual private
flyers.
Continuing the thread above, our next step was talking with these potential
customers to find our early adopters. Early adopters are a rare breed — they
have to be so enthusiastic that they’re willing to put up with the inherent
hassles of a new product. As Steve Blank explains, these “earlyvangelists”
have to meet five criteria:
Inline image 4
We started with commuter airlines. We spoke with one of our (amazing)
long-standing partners and confirmed that our plane, which is to be faster
than their existing plane, positions them for future growth.
Excerpt from NASA Electric Plane Conference Presentation March 2016
Inline image 5
Next we spoke with business aviation operators on the East Coast and West
Coast. We confirmed that our plane works within their business models, too.
Our next step is building a detailed ROI model for them to evaluate.
This leaves our third segment: individual private flyers.
Private Plane Flyers
We’re focusing now on our third market segment, individual private flyers.
What we’ve learned so far is while cost economics are a good selling point
for an airline, they’re not a sufficient one for private flyers.
We have to inspire — we have to become more than just a plane. As one
private flyer delicately put it, Wright would be “DOA — Dead on Arrival” if
all we talked about was fuel burn.
So! We’re working on various ways to do this. And we’d love to test our
concepts with private flyers. Why do people fly private? What do they care
about? Which of the things we’re considering do you like, and which are a
waste of time?
We’re looking for private flyers for a 20 minute conversation. Does anyone
know anyone who might be willing to speak? NetJets in particular is a goal.
All ideas welcome. Thanks a lot in advance (and for making it this far in
the weport!).
Around the Wuniverse — Focus on Ralph P
Around the Wuniverse is the weport’s opportunity to highlight the happenings
of you awesome Weporters. This week’s Around the Wuniverse:
Congratulations to Ralph P on his company’s technology being featured in a
major Sunday Review op-ed in the New York Times!
People
Adding five new rock stars to the weport distribution list this week. As
usual, you’re too humble to brag about yourselves, so I’ll do it for you:
Tivan Amour runs Fortified Bicycle
Ryan Dick is a Senior Software Engineer at Instacart
Jialu Chen is a student at Stanford GSB
Dan Kuebrich is on the product team at SolarWinds
Madelaine D’Angelo runs Arthena
Thanks to Brad, Jason, Mike, Kristen, Raja, mom and dad, Jacqui, Daniel,
Jess, Rachel, Tony, Sarah, Scott, Andrew, Kevin, grandma, MRod, Jeremie,
Michael, Ralph P, Noah, Jim, Chip, Doug, Bram, Ralph N, Noam, Eli, Ian,
Bram, Mary, Dan, Bennett, Rob, Soo, George, and everyone else who helped out
and/or sent over words of encouragement this week.
Lastly, here’s a fantastic photo of Jim with his Wright holiday gift:
Inline image 6
We still have a few extras, so send over your address if you’d like one too.
Hope you’re having a great weekend!
Electrically,
Jeff
PS: We really hope you’re enjoying these updates. But if at any time you’d
like to stop receiving these, please just do so here. No hard feelings — we
all understand inbox overload!
0 new messages