[Dylan16807]

> Batteries need a ~40x improvement in their specific energy density to make sense as an energy source for aircraft that depend on thrust for lift.

I don't know how I can say "no" strongly enough.

If you only need 500km of range, it does not matter a single bit that jet fuel would increase your range from 1000km to 5000km. (Or 100km/180km/5000km respectively, if you want to talk about more contemporary batteries.)

Two things matter. Is the range good enough? How much does it cost? Jet fuel should not even be considered when answering the first question.

[Gibbon1]

A good way to think of this is as a venn diagram. If an electric plane has 1000km of range then it overlaps with jet aircraft. And probably also cars, buses, and trains. I think of friends that live in the middle of Nebraska. If you want to take a plane first you drive three hours to Omaha. If electric aircraft were cheap enough perhaps they would come out ahead flying to Denver instead.