The worlds first fully electric commercial aircraft has
taken its inaugural test flight from the Fraser River at Harbour Air Seaplanes
terminal in Richmond, near Vancouver on December 10.
The short test flight lasted less than 15 minutes, reported
a journalist at the scene. The plane, operated by Harbour Air and MagniX, is a
yellow-and-black six-seater de Havilland DHC-2 Beaver with a 750-horsepower
(560 kW) Magni500 propulsion system.
The plane was piloted by Greg McDougall, founder and chief
executive of Harbour Air. "For me that flight was just like flying a Beaver,
but it was a Beaver on electric steroids. I actually had to back off on the
power," he said.
Launched at the Paris Air Show earlier this year, Australian
company MagniX said its propulsion system aims to provide a "clean and efficient
way to power airplanes."
Roei Ganzarski, chief executive of Australian engineering
firm magniX said, "This signifies the start of the electric aviation age"
Civil aviation is one of the fastest-growing sources of
carbon emissions as people increasingly take to the skies, and new technologies
have been slow to get off the ground.
The International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) has
encouraged greater use of efficient bio-fuel engines and lighter aircraft
materials, as well as route optimization.
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