Maiden Flight Of “Largest All-Electric Commercial Aircraft”
Once one is accustomed to driving emissions-free electric vehicles, it quickly follows for that person to begin wondering how long till many of us will be flying electric, and hoping for that day. Many of us want to avoid that dastardly footprint from soaring into the sky. Emissions free skies — what a vision. Each movement forward toward that goal is worthy of acknowledgement.
Another maiden flight, this time of the “largest all-electric commercial aircraft,” gives hope and proof that zero-emission forms of transport are indeed possible in the skies.
The ICCT reports that, “Commercial aviation accounts for about 2% of global carbon emissions, and about 12% of all CO2 emissions from the transportation sector. But CO2 emissions from commercial aircraft are on a pace to triple by 2050, as both passenger air travel and air freight surge worldwide, and aviation’s share of transportation-sector emissions is ballooning as cars and trucks become more fuel efficient.”
Here’s to magniX, the company powering the electric aviation revolution, and AeroTEC, a leading independent company focused on aerospace testing, engineering, and certification. The partners just announced the successful flight of an all-electric Cessna Grand Caravan 208B.
The partners accomplished the flight of the eCaravan, powered by a 750-horsepower (560 kW) magni500 propulsion system, at the AeroTEC Flight Test Center at the Grant County International Airport (KMWH) in Moses Lake, Washington, as planned and expected. AreoTech shared, “As the world’s largest all-electric commercial aircraft, this is a significant milestone in disrupting the transportation industry and accelerating the electric aviation revolution.”
“The iconic Caravan has been a workhorse of industry moving people and transporting goods on short routes for decades,” said Roei Ganzarski, CEO of magniX. “This first flight of the eCaravan is yet another step on the road to operating these middle-mile aircraft at a fraction of the cost, with zero emissions, from and to smaller airports. These electric commercial aircraft will enable the offering of flying services of people and packages in a way previously not possible.”
“I’m proud of the pioneering work performed by our engineers, technicians and flight test team,” said Lee Human, President and CEO of AeroTEC. “There’s no roadmap for testing and certifying electric aircraft – this is a new frontier and AeroTEC is on the front lines developing the processes and best practices that will pave the way for electric aviation.”
The eCaravan is going through an extensive certification and approval process for the magni500 propulsion system, which is critical to future conversions of other magniX aircraft going electric. This flight was another step in that process.
There is a firm belief that the electric commercial aircraft’s flight will validate and warrant new business models for flying both people and packages.
See many more electric aircraft/electric airplane stories on CleanTechnica.
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