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frmrCapCadet wrote:This would be a logical place to start, and part of that in both cities seaplanes land almost at city center, Victoria right in front of the parliament building.
flyorski wrote:This is awesome!
Karlsands wrote:As said above I hope this works out for the best and for the future .I do wonder how cold weather will affect operations in this regard however, as I know electric cars have lower range etc when temps drop to an extent
osiris30 wrote:If done right an electric powered aircraft would have much lower maintenance than a conventional combustion-based system.
dtw9 wrote:So let me get this right. The initial flights will last between 10-20 minutes due to battery limitations. And how long will the turn around be to recharge the batteries, 24hrs? First flight not until 2022 if all goes as planned. Sounds like you’re all getting ahead of yourselves here.
That's all the flying time their aircraft need to make the hop from downtown Vancouver to downtown Victoria. As far as turn times, I'd imagine the aircraft will have the same fast recharging capabilities as transit systems that are introducing electric buses into their fleets.
GalaxyFlyer wrote:Yeah converting a Beaver designed in 1947 with a Pratt R-985 to electricity should be a cinch. Balancing the damned might be challenging enough.
GF
GalaxyFlyer wrote:Yeah converting a Beaver designed in 1947 with a Pratt R-985 to electricity should be a cinch. Balancing the damned might be challenging enough.
GF
GalaxyFlyer wrote:Yeah converting a Beaver designed in 1947 with a Pratt R-985 to electricity should be a cinch. Balancing the damned might be challenging enough.
GF
beaverhunter wrote:GalaxyFlyer wrote:Yeah converting a Beaver designed in 1947 with a Pratt R-985 to electricity should be a cinch. Balancing the damned might be challenging enough.
GF
As a fan of the DHC-2 Beaver I don't think it is the right aircraft to be converted to electric. Best to introduce a new design made of modern composite materials.
767333ER wrote:What happens on on a larger plane when the batteries are low and yet you need full power for a go around for example?
dtw9 wrote:So let me get this right. The initial flights will last between 10-20 minutes due to battery limitations. And how long will the turn around be to recharge the batteries, 24hrs? First flight not until 2022 if all goes as planned. Sounds like you’re all getting ahead of yourselves here.
SwissCanuck wrote:767333ER wrote:What happens on on a larger plane when the batteries are low and yet you need full power for a go around for example?
The same thing that happens on a larger plane when fuel is low and you need full power for a go-around, for example? Of course it'll be the same story, reserves.
kalvado wrote:SwissCanuck wrote:767333ER wrote:What happens on on a larger plane when the batteries are low and yet you need full power for a go around for example?
The same thing that happens on a larger plane when fuel is low and you need full power for a go-around, for example? Of course it'll be the same story, reserves.
Larger plane fuel reserves include go-around, hold, flying to an alternative airport and landing there.
I don't know how it works with sailplanes, which are less picky about landing site - but may be more picky about the weather, especially outside of a harbor.
Would these guys need to carry extra 40+ minutes of flight time with them, or just a prayer (a wing is already there)?
dtw9 wrote:That's all the flying time their aircraft need to make the hop from downtown Vancouver to downtown Victoria. As far as turn times, I'd imagine the aircraft will have the same fast recharging capabilities as transit systems that are introducing electric buses into their fleets.
With a top speed of 155 mph and a 10-20 minute battery life they're still going to come up 10-20 miles short unless they plan on having the passengers row the last part of the trip
“I’ve had phone calls from other operators, one very large one I’m going to be meeting with…” Egan said. “When we came out with the announcement in February he called right away and said, ‘I want you to convert my fleet of 500 aircraft,’ and I said, ‘Whoa. Slow down. We’ve got a few steps to go through first, but we’re very, very interested.’ So now, suddenly, there’s this economic benefit or different revenue stream we didn’t think of before.”
VSMUT wrote:Every single article is from March 25th or March 26th. Are we certain it isn't an April fools joke that got out early?
Harbour Air, North America's largest seaplane airline and magniX, the company powering the electric aviation revolution, today announced the successful flight of the world's first all-electric commercial aircraft. The successful flight of the ePlane, a six-passenger DHC-2 de Havilland Beaver magnified by a 750-horsepower (560 kW) magni500 propulsion system, took place on the Fraser River at Harbour Air Seaplanes terminal in Richmond (YVR South) this morning. The plane was piloted by Harbour Air CEO and founder Greg McDougall. This historic flight signifies the start of the third era in aviation – the electric age.
Canuck600 wrote:I think at this stage it's proof of concept & working with Transport Canada to come up with new rules & regulations.
AirbusCanada wrote:Harbour Air, a British Columbia-based commercial seaplane airlane operator, has developed a new all-electric plane in partnership with MagniX.
The company retrofitted a de Havilland Canada Beaver seaplane with a 750-hp electric motor developed by MagniX.
They didn’t confirm the energy capacity of the battery pack installed in the plane, but they did say that it weighs “one tonne” (2,200 lbs). At an energy density of 300 Wh/kg, it would mean a 300 kWh battery pack.
https://electrek.co/2019/12/10/world-first-electric-seaplane-takes-flight/
Jean Leloup wrote:Very impressed that they were able to conduct this test so quickly after announcing the plan. However, the obvious elephant in the room will continue to be the range - and I note that this question was not addressed in any way in the recent news, which is probably a good indicator that they haven't had a magical unexpected breakthrough in that department.
As anyone familiar with Harbour's network will know, many of their flights are indeed very short. But if they are unable to make it from Vancouver harbour to Nanaimo harbour (I believe their shortest route?) with current battery technology, then there isn't really much point to all this, is there?
-JL
pune wrote:There have been quite a few topics which have been talking about electric planes and I have been seeing them but it all seems random a bit, maybe if somebody were to move all the news to one section, one corner, it would have more visibility. For e.g. the Air Race E https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_Race_E and airbus involvement as a founding partner which I guess was also shared in one of the threads would be nice to have it all in one corner so no news is missed of who's doing what in the space of electric planes.