I searched the forum and believe that no-one has mentioned anything about Metal-Air battery technology yet.
Another lab in my university recently presented their research on this topic, and hyped a lot about it being the future of energy storage. It certainly looks awesome on paper, though longevity and discharge rate are a long way off what one would consider usable at present.
Here is a link with more info on the topic: Metal-air Batteries | Gayn Winters' Blog
i think this graphic shows a realistic picture. even if it takes a long time for high-current applications until li-ion technology can have a big increase. It is much easier to extend the flight time by adapting the overall system. cruise values of 5-5.5 g / w are already possible.
There’s alot of research going on around the world. I don’t think there will be a big improvement in short time for hobby grade batteries.
As bratwurst already mentioned it’s better to improve other things.
The four-motor concept with small props is VERY inefficiënt compared to a single big prop setup.
Ok the four-motor ppg works great and is rather cheap to get in the air but if you really want to get the most out of the now available batteries, go for a big single prop.
Do you know how do you calculate the efficiency of a propeller?
I am interested by your comment, and would like to know how much more inefficient are 4 small propellers than and single large one.
you can easily calculate it yourself. as an example: if the drive delivers 52 kg of thrust and needs 15 kilowatts. he has a g / w of 3.46. if the drive delivers 50 kg of thrust and needs 10 kw, it has g / w of 5.0. that is about a 30% difference in flight time. as a guide. in flight it is even clearer because the resistance of the single motor is much lower. you can find diagrams on my facebook page.