The 28th of May, 2020 is as a new milestone in the world of aviation. On this date, an all-electric Caravan 208B aircraft took on to the skies of Washington. It is so far the largest all-electric aircraft flight in the skies.
The flight took off from Grand County International Airport, Washington, and spent nearly 30 minutes circling around the field before successfully landing on the Moses Lake Runway. This flight of nine seated passenger Caravan planes has achieved this magnificent feat with collaboration between two relatively new companies, the magniX, and the AeroTEC. In the word of magniX CEO Roei Ganzarski, the flight is ” a real significant watershed moment for aviation”.
Designers’ Profile
magniX is an electric engine manufacturing company founded in 2009. The company has its headquarters in Redmond, Washington and its engineering center is in Queensland, Australia. magniX designed the electric motor for the e-Caravan. However, this is not the first time, the company has designed an electric motor for an aircraft.
In December 2019, magniX successfully tested its Magni500 electric motor in the DHC-2 Beaver aircraft. The configuration is currently under the certification process from Transport Canada. It is also involved in the design and supply of an electric propulsion system to an all-electric aircraft currently being developed by an Israeli Company, Eviation Aircraft. The Israeli Aircraft ran to technical snags in January 2020.
AeroTEC is an aerospace firm operating in the field of aerospace since 2001. The company is based in Seattle, USA, and provides service in areas of engineering design, light manufacturing, performance analysis, CFD analysis, etc. AeroTEC performed the complex modification task of replacing the conventional engine of the aircraft by the new electric engine system.
How is the event significant ?
The original Cessna Caravan 208B is one of the most successful and versatile design with approximately 2500 aircraft still in operation in some for in more than 100 countries of the world. While the conventional version of Cessna Caravan 208B is powered with a Pratt & Whitney PT6A-114A engine with a power rating of 675 SHP, the electric test model is powered by a magniX500 electric engine with a power rating of 750 SHP. The power difference between is a bare minimum. What now matters is the battery power which affects the range and payload of the aircraft.
The tested model in its present form can carry 4-5 passengers on a flight of 100 miles. The limitation arises from reserve power requirement. This limitation will improve with improvement in battery technology in the future.
Concerns have been mounting for years about the environmental cost of flying. Innovators have been prying into ways to make e-aviation viable. Innovators are making step by step progress in this field. While not the Eureka moment, this, however, is a significant leap towards a cleaner and greener aviation. Things are gonna change….. for good.