World’s first all-electric commercial aircraft takes flight in Canada

Source: MIT Technology Review

The world’s first electric commercial aircraft, a seaplane, flew for a 15 minute test flight in Vancouver, Canada recently. It is owned by Harbour Air which ferries half a million passengers a year between Vancouver, Whistler ski resort and nearby islands and coastal resorts.

Harbour Air worked alongside the Australian engineering firm MagniX (which makes high-power-density electric motors for aircraft) to retrofit the seaplane with a 750 hp electric motor. The CEO of Harbour Air, Greg McDougall, says they hope to electrify their entire fleet of more than 40 seaplanes. Mr McDougall predicts the company will save millions in maintenance costs because electric motors require “drastically” less in upkeep.

Read more:
- World’s first fully electric commercial aircraft takes flight in Canada. The Guardian, December 11, 2019.
- A fully electric aircraft has just made its first commercial flight. MIT Technology Review, December 11, 2019.