It had nothing to do with cost. We stopped going to the moon because the public lost interest. I think we have proven time and time again that when we really want to accomplish something, cost doesn’t matter. We find a way. The main problem is that our priorities have been wrong. It seems that we can easily find $3 Trillion to fund an unnecessary war, but a few 10s of millions on technological progress is some how unaffordable. We would not have the internet today had it not been for the massive investment the DOD made into ARPANet which was a project with an overall negative ROI.
Like it or not, electric aviation is in the future, just like electric cars are the future. There is a healthy mix of public and private R&D working towards viable technologies to make electric propulsion a reality. I just don’t see why anyone could be against this. Imagine 10 years from now a Lithium-CO2 battery pack that can keep a Cirrus SR-22 in the air for 7 hours while quietly propelling it at 200kts at 24,000 feet (yes, I know, you need O2 at that altitude, so what, that’s not the point), all for an hourly cost 1/10 of what it is now. And at the same time, no more worries about the multitude of maintenance issues we have with internal combustion engines. It would be better, safer, and cheaper. Can you imagine flying your airplane for a day, then pulling the battery packs out of the wings to take them home to charge over night for a couple of dollars worth of power instead of paying $300 to fill the tanks? Why wouldn’t you want that?
OK, I’ve said enough. I’ll get of your lawn now.