Harbour Air, which calls itself the biggest seaplane airline in North America, claims to carry around half a million passengers every year, and in 2019 the company plans to unveil the world’s first electric airliner.
To realise this dream, they made some very risky decisions, such as installing electric motor systems in its six-seater aircraft.
MagniX, a manufacturer of high-powered electric motors, was brought in as a partner.
To put it simply, a modified De Havilland Beaver flew as an all-electric commercial aircraft towards the tail end of 2019. Since then, the business has been conducting more tests in pursuit of FAA and Transport Canada certification, following on the heels of its first accomplishment.
This was the very first time the aircraft had flown nonstop between two locations.
It travelled 72 kilometres (45 miles) in 24 minutes, using just electrical power. After landing, a lot of juice remained in the aircraft, so they say.
Kory Paul, Vice President of Flight Operations at Harbour Air and one of the company’s test pilots, said, “I am thrilled to announce that this historic flight on the ePlane went just as anticipated.”
