Whale of a Time: Clever Electric Motors Push Giant Airship to the Skies
Image Credit: Flying Whales.
So, picture this: a blimp. No, not just any blimp. A blimp the size of a small village. And it's going to be powered by enough electric motors to make your Tesla look like a toy car. We're talking about the Flying Whales LCA60T, a monstrosity of a craft that's set to redefine "airborne." And guess what? It's got 32 tiny, but absolutely bonkers, Evolito D250 motors.
Flying Whales is an airship that's 656 feet long. Let that sink in. That's longer than two football fields, end to end. And to move this behemoth, they're using Evolito motors, which, let me tell you, are pure magic. Or just clever engineering - it's all the same to me.
These little marvels are the brainchild of Evolito, a company that spun off from YASA, the folks who basically set every electric speed record known to man. They're using something called axial flux technology, which, in layman's terms, means they've flipped the electric motor on its side. It's like turning your hamburger sideways to fit more toppings. And just like a good burger, this tech is all about maximizing efficiency.
Each Evolito D250 motor weighs a measly 18.3 pounds, yet it pumps out a staggering 230 kW. That's a power-to-weight ratio that would make a hummingbird blush. We're talking 12.5 kW per pound, which, for those of you not fluent in geek-speak, is a lot. The bigger Evolito D500 pushes out 350 kW and it weighs less than 65 pounds. And it measures 14.7 inches in diameter, and it’s only 5 inches thick. Basically, they've crammed a muscle car engine into a shoebox.
Image Credit: Evolito.
Why is this important? Well, when you're building an airship the size of a small town, weight is your main enemy. Every pound counts. And these Evolito motors are basically the featherweights of the electric motor world. They're so light, you could probably lift one with a particularly enthusiastic sneeze.
Why go to all this trouble? The Flying Whales project is all about hauling cargo to remote locations, places where roads and runways are just a pipe dream. This beast of the skies can be used for logging in the Amazon (not really eco-friendly this one) or delivering supplies to Arctic outposts. This airship is designed to carry 60 tons of cargo. That's 13 tons more than Airbus BelugaST can carry, and I know which one looks better.
Image Credit: Flying Whales.
And of course, Flying Whales LCA60T is electric. Mostly. They're aiming for hydrogen-electric, which to me sounds like putting a rocket on a golf cart, and we all know how that ends. But hey, if it works, it works. And with 32 of these Evolito motors, they've got enough power to make sure this floating leviathan actually, you know, floats.
These disc-shaped electric motors are being built in a 40,000-square-foot facility in England, and they've got all the certifications and approvals you could shake a stick at. Test flights are already planned for 2027, which is just around the corner in blimp time.
I'm not going to lie, I have my doubts. We're talking about a giant balloon filled with hydrogen, powered by electric motors, flying over who-knows-where. What could possibly go wrong? Oh, boy… But if they pull it off, it'll be a sight to behold.
The Flying Whales airship, powered by the mighty Evolito D250 motors - we are truly living in an amazing age. But while I am chuffed about the giant balloon, those electric motors have my head spinning. You can stack three of them together and have a nearly 1,000-horsepower powerplant that weighs about 86 pounds. To put that into perspective - Ford's latest Megazilla 2.0 crate V8 with the same power comes at nearly 600 pounds. This right here is the answer for anyone who ever asked why electric motors are better. Right here.
