A lighter engine certainly doesn't hurt, but it's really the batteries that are an issue. The other item often overlooked on the battery front is that most batteries hate the cold. Take your iPhone out on a 20F day and see how long that 100% charge lasts! (Spoiler alert, likely a few minutes).
As you go up in the atmosphere things start to get really cold. Until the weight and temperature issues with batteries can be address electrical aviation will be mostly a concept on paper.
As you go up in the atmosphere things start to get really cold. Until the weight and temperature issues with batteries can be address electrical aviation will be mostly a concept on paper.