Alaska’s Ryan Air Orders BETA Technology Electric Plane For Cargo Duty
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Electric airplanes are no longer a science-fiction dream or the stuff of Popular Mechanics magazine covers. As we reported a few weeks ago, Bristow Norway, a Norwegian company that transports crews from the west coast of Norway to oil installations in the North Sea, recently completed a test flight of a BETA Technologies Alia CX300 electric plane from its headquarters in Stavanger to Bergen, Norway, with a test payload of cargo.
The Alia CX300 is a CTOL aircraft, which means it lands and takes off the way a normal airplane would do. BETA Technologies also has a version of the same basic airframe that is configured for vertical takeoff and landing service.
Ryan Air Orders Electric Plane From BETA
Electrive reports today that Alaskan cargo airline Ryan Air in Alaska (not the same Ryanair Europeans are familiar with) has placed an order for a BETA Technologies Alia electric plane and committed to install up to ten of BETA’s Charge Cube charging stations. The electric aircraft will be used in the remote regions of the the most northern state in the US.
Electric airplanes are similar to electric cars in some respects. There are those who say an electric airplane needs to have the same range as a conventional plane, just as others say an electric car needs to have the same range as a conventional car. Otherwise, they are not interested. However, electric vehicles of any type only need enough range to get the job done. After that, it’s a simple matter to plug them in so they are ready for whatever is next.
Alaska is the perfect place for the Alia CTOL aircraft. The state has hundreds of small communities spread across its footprint. Ryan Air itself serves more than 70 rural communities in Alaska, many of which are inaccessible by road and depend on air transport for supplies. The carrier intends to use the Alia to deliver food, medicine, and other essential goods.
A Fully Featured Aircraft
The aircraft is designed to carry up to 1,250 pounds of cargo and is capable of operating under instrument flight rules and in known icing conditions, features that are critical for safe operations in Alaska’s severe weather.
The Alia CTOL uses a proprietary H500A electric motor paired with Hartzell propellers engineered for electric and hybrid-electric propulsion. With a wingspan of 50 feet, the aircraft achieves a demonstrated range of 336 nautical miles (622 kilometers) and a maximum speed of 153 knots (285 km/h or 177 mph). Its battery system enables charging to 98 percent in under an hour and is designed for second-life applications.
To support operations, Ryan Air will introduce up to 10 BETA Charge Cubes at key locations. These energy storage stations are compatible not only with BETA aircraft but also with other electric aircraft and ground vehicles, including buses and trucks. This approach is intended to reduce demand on local grids, many of which in rural Alaska continue to rely on diesel generation.
Beta Technologies is an aviation company based in the state of Vermont that specializes in the manufacture of electric aircraft in either VTOL or CTOL configurations. Its planes are currently in use or being tested in Norway and Denmark.
An Electric Plane From China
Recently, Zachary Shahan brought us up to date on an electric airplane from China’s Liaoning General Aviation Academy. Known as the RX4E electric airplane, the four-passenger electric aircraft will be offered for sale internationally “with a focus on short haul flights in areas without good roads,” according to AVweb.
“The manufacturer says the plane, which is about the size of Cessna 182 but with a much longer 45 foot wingspan, will have a 90 minute endurance with a range of about 160 miles and a cruise speed of about 120 knots. This milestone marks a new era for sustainable aviation, paving the way for commercialization of Electric Aircraft in the Advanced Air Mobility market.“
Frankly, the RX4E looks like a normal aircraft. Only a true aviation connoisseur would notice the longer than usual wings. It is more like a battery electric conversion of a 1985 Honda Civic in appearance, and that is not a criticism. It is purpose built to do a job and it should fill that role perfectly — without burning any gas.
“Maybe what’s needed is really just simple, cheap, small electric airplanes for regional transport. Maybe that’s how we start getting the benefits of electric aircraft — before graduating on to larger electric airplanes and fancier electric VTO,” Zachary wrote, and he is exactly correct. People don’t care what a plane looks like, they care what it does. For particular use case, the RX4E is just what the doctor ordered here at the beginning of the age of electric flight.
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