MagniX Motors in Everett, Washington looks forward to powering a short-field performance champion, the DeHavilland Dash 7.
The Dash 7 is a pretty astonishing short field aircraft, emulating the bush planes of the far north, home to its Canadian maker. Measuring its take-off and landing capabilities, this video shows what four Pratt & Whitney PT-6 turbines can do for a 40,000 pound airplane.
As shown, the craft can carry heavy load from and into some pretty isolated territory without the need for sophisticated airport support systems.
The idea of such performance and load-hauling is not a new idea, World War Two, and subsequent conflicts demonstrating the need for the need to get in and out of scarcely viable landscapes.
To drive the point home, here’s a second video of a Dash 7 landing with 5,700 liters (10,088 pounds) of Jet-A on board. Not only is it a short landing but a very precise one, the main gear staying within bounds of the silty runway even after a non-standard approach.
Like most things in the 121-year history of aviation, it’s not a new idea. Breguet Aviation in France tried a forward-looking “blown-wing” design in the early 1950s, but the thought of building hundreds of mini-airports to accommodate such performance seems to have scared off prospective investors.
Dr. Brien Seeley, head of the Sustainable Aviation Foundation, has been advocating for such neighborhood airparks for well over a decade. Electric aircraft with the STOL performance of the Dash 7 could help sell the idea.
Back in pre-electric flight days, the complexity of ganging powerplants together to ensure reliability was often a significant impediment to progress, as shown in this video of the Breguet 188, which resulted in a McDonnell version, neither of which achieved commercial success.
New, powerful electric motors eliminate the complex mechanical linkages and enable the reliability of modern electronics to take hold. They’re also quieter, enabling their acceptance in more “close-in” neighborhood settings.
Thus, an electric Dash Seven may have a very real affect on making pocket airparks a reality.
An Electric Dash 7
As part of the NASA electrified powertrain flight demonstration (EPFD) program, MagniX unveiled a DeHavilland DHC-7, to be refitted with MagniX motors. The craft, donated by Air Tindi, comes within months of a Preliminary Design Review and subsequent “completion of the first phase of testing of the magni650 electric engine in April at NASA’s electric aircraft testbed (NEAT) facility in Sandusky, Ohio.” That testing verified the motor’s performance at altitudes up to 27,500 feet. Several other baseline tests provided “critical performance data” before MagniX modifies the Dash-7 with its new motors. MagniX will install one motor in place of the existing turboprop first, with flight tests scheduled for 2026. Once proven, the initial motor will be accompanied by a second MagniX unit, with fuel savings predicted to be over 40 percent compared to the all-turbine original.
MagniX powertrain consists of motor, MagniDrive electronic control unit (ECU), PDX800 Power distribution Unit, and a Samson 300 battery pack
Ben Loxton, Vice President of EPFD and Electric Storage Systems (ESS) at magniX, praises the progress to date and looks forward to even greater achievements. “MagniX and NASA are demonstrating that sustainable flight can be realized with the technology available today. The EPFD program is accelerating its readiness for entry into service, with a focus on safety and maintaining the highest standards of performance.”
Although Dash-7’s may be a small part of the potential market for new motors (only a little over 100 ever having been built) the prospects for MagniX motors powering other legacy and future designs is great. We look forward to what this company and NASA can achieve together.