Seaplanes Get Electric With Magnix & Harbour Air
Credit to Author: Nicolas Zart| Date: Tue, 29 Oct 2019 18:48:36 +0000
Published on October 29th, 2019 | by Nicolas Zart
October 29th, 2019 by Nicolas Zart
We’ve heard about electric air mobility for a few years now, and even electric boats, but Harbour Air, based in Vancouver, Canada, is the only one tackling electric seaplanes, as we previously covered.
We’ve now got some from Harbour Air Seaplane’s conversion to electricity. MagniX has stepped up to the plate to tackle the air and sea element. The company has now created a dedicated space in its aircraft hangar and has been working on converting the seaplane to electricity.
Following the same philosophy as Ampaire’s — converting an existing aircraft to electricity, presumably a de Havilland Beaver — Harbour Air is installing a 750 hp magniX motor and connecting it to the internal systems in preparation for its first flight. This should give the aircraft enough energy for an hour of flight. The team reports being on track for the first test flight before the end of the year. They expect a test timeframe by mid-November.
In short, the company says it is on track to meet its milestones in the conversion of the world’s first seaplane to e-plane. We’ve reached out to the team and expect more information. So far, Harbour Aircraft has done the following:
Harbour Air ePlane1, via Harbour Air.
It says it needs to receive the final battery strings and install a BMU (battery management unit). This will be followed by — cross fingers — putting power on and beginning the actual testing of the aircraft. That will be followed by continuing to develop and connecting the wiring harness.
Harbour Air says it is the world’s largest floatplane-only airline and it wants to switch over to electricity. It has 40 aircraft, 39 registered with Transport Canada.
This is a growing trend we’re seeing among aviation operators. They are looking to electricity to cut down on maintenance and energy cost, and, of course, to lower their emissions and noise signature. Congratulations to Harbour Air on being the first to electrify a seaplane.
Top image: Harbour Air ePlane1, via Harbour Air.
Follow CleanTechnica on Google News.
It will make you happy & help you live in peace for the rest of your life.
Nicolas Zart Nicolas was born and raised around classic cars of the 1920s, but it wasn’t until he drove an AC Propulsion eBox and a Tesla Roadster that the light went on. Ever since he has produced green mobility content on various CleanTech outlets since 2007 and found his home on CleanTechnica. His communication passion led to cover electric vehicles, autonomous vehicles, renewable energy, test drives, podcasts, shoot pictures, and film for various international outlets in print and online. Nicolas offers an in-depth look at the e-mobility world through interviews and the many contacts he has forged in those industries. His favorite taglines are: “There are more solutions than obstacles.” and “Yesterday’s Future Now”