Page 17 - Jan2020

New Life for Old Beavers The first test flights of the electric-powered
The venerable Canadian-built de Havilland DHC-2 Beaver, Beaver occurred on December 10, 2019 with
Greg McDougall at the controls. The aircraft’s
first flown in 1947, is about to begin a new life with a new
electric engine by magniX is a magni500, a
engine. Regarded as one of the world’s best bush planes,
over 1,600 Beavers were built by the time production 750 horsepower motor.
ended in 1967. The test flight used lithium-ion batteries
because they are the most “tried and true,”
Originally powered by a Wasp Jr radial engine, some
Beavers over the years have been converted to turboprop but there are already others on the market
that are more powerful, McDougall said.
power.
“The evolution of lithium batteries is constant
and there are literally billions of dollars being
poured into that technology as we speak,” he
said.

In the meantime, Ganzarski said the market is
there for electric planes to take off around the
world.
Forty-five per cent of flights worldwide cover
distances of 800 kilometres or less, and five per
And now, Harbour Air, the world’s largest all-seaplane
cent cover distances under 160 kilometres, he
airline, is going to do something totally new – power a
said.
Beaver with an electric engine!
Exactly when the electric aircraft will be
Founded by Greg McDougall in 1982, Harbour Air operates
approved for commercial flight is unclear as
regular scheduled service between Vancouver and Victoria,
Transport Canada will be entering new
as well as service to Seattle, with both scheduled and territory.
charter flights on the British Columbia coast. As a pilot
himself, Greg has 12,000 hours in the cockpit. Having The operating costs are between 50 and 80 per
started with two Beaver aircraft for his company, he now cent lower than combustion engines and
heads an operation with nearly 50 aircraft and employs 80 ultimately, that will mean lower ticket prices
pilots among Harbour Air’s 450 employees. for passengers.

Greg stated, “The Harbour Air team, along with our
technology partners, are taking on a bit of a moon shot.
We intend to make aviation history by being the first
commercial airline in the world to use an all-electric-
powered aircraft in scheduled service. A lofty goal, but
totally achievable.” He pointed out that certification of a
retrofit kit will enable it to be adapted to the company’s
larger single- engine Otters in the future.

A schematic image of the first six-
passenger Beaver to be converted to
electric power with a magni500, a
750-horsepower motor produced by
the magniX company.