The world’s first commercial all-electric plane, the six-seater Harbour Air ePlane with an engine designed by Australian engineering firm MagniX, has taken flight in Canada.
Operated by Harbour Air the six-seater, all-electric commercial seaplane completed a test flight in Canada, marking a “world-first milestone”.
The Harbour Air ePlane performed a 15-minute trial flight in the city of Richmond, south of Vancouver, on 10 December. It was piloted by Harbour Air CEO and founder Greg McDougall.
“Today, we made history,” said McDougall. “I am incredibly proud of Harbour Air’s leadership role in re-defining safety and innovation in the aviation and seaplane industry.”
“Canada has long held an iconic role in the history of aviation, and to be part of this incredible world-first milestone is something we can all be really proud of,” McDougall added.
The flight forms the beginning of a collaboration between MagniX and Harbour Air, which are aiming to create an all-electric commercial seaplane fleet across British Columbia. The companies said the successful test demonstrates that this type of aviation is possible.
“In December 1903, the Wright Brothers launched a new era of transportation – the aviation age – with the first flight of a powered aircraft,” said MagniX CEO Roei Ganzarski.
“Today, 116 years later, with the first flight of an all-electric powered commercial aircraft, we launched the electric era of aviation.”
The Harbour Air ePlane is a six-passenger small aircraft, also known as a DHC-2 de Havilland Beaver. It has a 750-horsepower (560 kW) high-power-density electric propulsion system developed by MagniX, called Magni500.
The all-electric propulsion technology was unveiled in June this year at the Paris Air Show, demonstrating a clean and efficient way to power aeroplanes.
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