Page 44 - World Airnews Magazine November 2020

ELECTRIC
AIRCRAFT

AMPAIRE FLIES

LONGEST ELECTRIFIED

AIRCRAFT ROUTE

In that period, the aircraft flew over 30 flight demonstrations will mark the first

hours during 23 flights, in 28 days, with time an electrically powered aircraft has

mpaire, a pioneer in electric 100% dispatch reliability. flown under an FAA “Market Survey”

Aaviati on, has accomplished the “Our success in taking this aircraft in a experimental aircraft certificate in order to

longest flight to date for any commercially short period from the test environment to gain real-world flight experience.

relevant aircraft employing - a hybrid-elec- the normal, everyday operating environ- In Hayward, the aircraft will be partially

tric propulsion system. ment is a testament to our development disassembled for shipment to Hawaii.

Ampaire’s Electric EEL, a six-seat Cessna and test organization, and to the systems The Hawaii flight trials are funded in part

337 twin-engine aircraft modified with an maturity we have achieved with our second by Elemental Excelerator, a clean tech incu-

electric motor in the nose and traditional aircraft,” said Ampaire General Manager bator headquartered in Honolulu.

combustion engine in the rear, took off Doug Shane. The Electric EEL can generate fuel and

from Camarillo airport just north of Los A former president of Scaled Composites, emissions savings up to 50 percent on

Angeles at 12.20 PM. Shane is one of the world’s foremost ex- shorter regional routes where the aircraft’s

Test pilot Justin Gillen and flight test perts on the development and flight testing electrical propulsion unit can be run at high

engineer Russel Newman, flew up Califor- of new aviation concepts. power settings, and generate savings of

nia’s Central Valley at 8,500 feet, landing “The ability to put innovative electric about 30 percent on longer regional routes

at Hayward Executive Airport at 02:52 PM. technologies into the air rapidly in order to such as the Camarillo to Hayward flight.

Straight line distance was 292 statute miles, assess and refine them,” he said, “is central “The Electric EEL is our first step in pio-

and the route as flown 341 statute miles. to Ampaire’s strategy to introduce low-emis- neering new electric aircraft designs,” said

Speed during the cruise portion of the sions aircraft for regional airlines and charter Ampaire CEO Noertker.

two hour, 32-minute flight averaged around operators within just a few years.” “Our next step will likely be a 19-seat hy-

135 mph. The EEL flown to Hayward is dubbed the brid electric retrofit program that will lower

“The mission was a quite normal Hawaii Bird as it will take part later this emissions and operating costs, benefiting

cross-country flight that we could imagine year in a series of demonstration flights regional carriers, their passengers and their

electrified aircraft making every day just a with Hawaii-based Mokulele Airlines on its communities.”

few years from now,” Gillen said. short-haul routes. Ampaire, with funding from NASA and

This milestone in electric aviation took The flight trials with Mokulele will not others, is in the midst of design studies for

place after four weeks of flight testing in only demonstrate the capabilities of the such an aircraft based on the popular de

the Camarillo area for this second Electric EEL but will help to define the infrastruc- Havilland Twin Otter aircraft.

EEL test aircraft, which first flew on Sep- ture required for wide adoption of electric Ampaire has named the hybrid-electric

tember 10th. aviation by airlines and airports. These 19-seater aircraft the Eco Otter SX. Q
World Airnews | November / December 2020
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