Harbour Air Seaplanes, the Canadian seaplane airline that services British Columbia and Seattle, has recently completed its first all-electric, point-to-point test flight and shared it in a press release, according to Electrek.
On August 17, the carrier’s de Havilland Canada Beaver’ ePlane’, flew 45 miles (72 kilometers) in 24 minutes from the Canadian seaplane operator’s terminal at Frasier River near Vancouver International Airport to Pat Bay. Harbour Air’s vice president of flight operations and test pilot Kory Paul said:
“I am excited to report that this historic flight on the ePlane went exactly as planned. Our team as well as the team at magniX and Transport Canada are always closely monitoring the aircraft’s performance and today’s flight further proved the safety and reliability of what we have built.”
For more than two years, Harbour Air has tested the usage of electric motors as part of its ePlane project. The company developed a proof-of-concept testbed by swapping out the Beaver’s Pratt & Witney R-985 Wasp Junior radial engine for a 750 hp magni500 all-electric motor.
Harbour Air will be closer to completing the certification process with FAA and Transport Canada, paving the way for commercial all-electric aircraft.
