Eviation puts its intentions front and center on its web site. “OUR VISION: To launch a new era of more sustainable, scalable, and affordable transportation.” They follow this up with, “OUR MISSION: To build beautiful electric airplanes using advanced technology and impeccable design, imagined and built by a committed and expert workforce.” And Alice did fly a beautiful test flight on September 27, 2022 – and since then it’s not flown again. According to FlightGlobal.com, Alice’s makers felt the single flight was enough to have “generated terabytes of data.” Gregory Davis, then the company’s CEO stated, “What we have been doing is focusing on what we need to get the airplane to the next stage. We don’t need to fly the aircraft again and again [at this point] – let’s focus on advancing the design.” With certification perhaps four years away, then CEO Davis seemed to indicate everything was open to change, including the MagniX motors that had powered the only …
MagniX Ready for New Markets
MagniX, the motor company powering Eviation’s Alice and Harbour Air’s Beaver, is expanding into new markets. Already flying in a DeHavilland Beaver in Canada and being readied for flight on Eviation’s Alice in Arlington, Washington, the company’s motors have many potential airframes to grace. Besides Harbour Air and Eviation, English firm Faradair has chosen MagniX to power its BEHA, a triplane configuration commuter, and Sydney Seaplanes wants MagniX power for its Cessna Caravan Supplemental Type Certificate. On a grander scale, Universal Hydrogen will power its converted DeHavilland Dash 8s with MagniX. Even NASA has awarded funding to MagniX (along with General Electric) to develop “Electrified Aircraft Propulsion (EAP) technologies through ground and flight demonstrations. “ Harbour Air’s Beaver A 1957 de Havilland of Canada Beaver, C-FJOS, had its original Pratt & Whitney P-985 Wasp Junior radial piston engine replaced with a Magnix 750hp (559kW) Magni500 electric powerplant. It first flew on electric power on December 10, 2019. On August 19, …
Harbor Air’s eBeaver, MagniX’s Motor, H55’s Batteries
In our last blog entry, we discussed a three-partner enterprise with an American airframe propelled by a French motor powered by British batteries. In this round, we have a Canadian airframe powered by an Australian/American motor driven by Swiss batteries. These international collaborations may pay off in big ways. Datelined Vancouver, B.C., Everett, WA, and Sion, Switzerland, the joint press release shows a strong and well-organized partnership in action. “Harbour Air, North America’s largest seaplane airline; magniX the company powering the electric aviation revolution; and H55, the spin off from Solar Impulse, producing highly efficient certified battery packs, announced a partnership to certify the world’s first electric Beaver (eBeaver) commuter airplane through a supplemental type certificate (STC) program.” H55 is a part, also, of the Solar Impulse Foundation, organized to promote “1000+ efficient and profitable solutions to protect the environment.” Their collaboration with Harbour Air and magniX is one of those solutions. Even though a small airline (40 aircraft) flying …