Of course, it's a small battery pack.
FYI: I've ridden a few regional flights from Sacramento to the bay that are only about 15 minutes in the air, so the battery life might be as huge an issue as it's made out to be. Use electric for regional hops, and jets for longer "traditional" flights.
I've noticed that people who work on electric aircraft express some annoyance with this.
> I've noticed that people who work on electric aircraft express some annoyance with this.
As someone who was just on a plane who was recently on a plane that was diverted to another airport due to dangerously bad weather, I'm glad those requirements are there. There's all kind of things that can go wrong that could delay a landing for a half hour or more.
Not there yet, but probably within spitting distance of a few of the use cases on the edges.
And yes, there are certainly use cases which come up as the technology improves. Actually, the airplane I want to buy when I win the lottery is electric: the Antares 20E. It's an electric self-launching glider, so it really just needs enough to get airborne and to a decent altitude, then you use the weather to stay up. Short hops like you describe would work too.
It's much like cars. The Nissan LEAF was useless for driving across the country but great if you just need to get around the city, and then better technology and range increase the number of scenarios where the cars are useful.