Harbour Air switching to Electric Beavers

[ScudRunner-d95]

I bet she will still burn a quart of oil an hour

https://vancouversun.com/business/energy/harbour-air-to-add-zero-emission-electric-plane-aims-to-convert-whole-fleet

A transition from seaplane to e-plane is set to begin.

Harbour Air is embarking on what is believed to be a world first, adding an electric plane to its fleet — a zero-emission aircraft powered by a 750-horsepower electric motor.
The company has 42 planes and 12 routes, and operates from centres such as Victoria, Vancouver and Seattle. It is North America’s largest seaplane airline, serving 500,000 passengers on 30,000 commercial flights every year.
“The intent is to eventually convert the whole fleet,” said Harbour Air’s founder and CEO. Greg McDougall. of the move to electric planes. “It would be a staged situation because the range of the (electric) aircraft presently, with the present battery capacity, would be around a half an hour with a half-an-hour reserve.
“But that’s changing very rapidly with the development of the battery technology.”
The first plane to be converted will be the six-passenger DHC-2 de Havilland Beaver, which is used across Harbour Air routes.
“The first one would be a prototype, which is basically proving the technology for Transport Canada and getting toward certification,” McDougall said.
Harbour Air is taking on the electric-plane venture with Washington state’s magniX — a company specializing in creating electric propulsion for air travel. The partners anticipate conducting the first flight tests in November.
McDougall said nobody has ever flown a fully electric commercial flight.

“If you think about it, it’s the evolution of transportation toward electric propulsion,” he said. “The internal combustion engine is all but obsolete, really, for future development.
“It’s all about electric.”
Harbour Air is looking to get all needed approvals in a timely way as it moves toward electric power, McDougall said.
“We don’t want to be trying to get through the regulatory process after it becomes more economically viable, we want to do it now.”
Price comparisons between standard and electric planes are difficult to make because Harbour Air is still in the research-and-development phase, he said.
“What we’re doing here is retrofitting new technology to older technology. The cost is very similar to us putting a turbine engine on the aircraft, but the big win there is that the electric motor doesn’t have to be rebuilt every 2,500 to 3,000 hours.
“It’s got very few moving parts and it doesn’t consume fossil fuel.”
Roei Ganzarski, the magniX CEO, said that in 2018, 75 per cent of the world’s airline flights were about 1,600 kilometres or shorter, which is where Harbour Air fits in.
“With magniX’s new propulsion systems, coupled with emerging battery capabilities, we see tremendous potential for electric aviation to transform this heavily trafficked ‘middle mile’ range,” he said in a statement.
He said his company’s partnership with Harbour Air “will set the standard for the future of commercial aviation operators.”

[Colonel]

Where are they going to get extension cords that long?

I don't think Canadian Tire has them.

[Liquid Charlie]

People are deaf to the question, when I ask it, "how will the government replace tax dollars when electric vehicles become more popular. Everyone seems to be under the misconception that it's "free" energy. As soon as the impact is felt there will be taxes and to operate an electric vehicle will be costing the same as a internal combustion engine. Cost always trumps green and besides the electricity infrastructure and how that power is produced is no way close to being anymore efficient or without environmental impact. It wasn't that long a go when natural gas was going to change it all and you could fuel up at home. People we jumping on that until regulations kicked in to prevent end running taxes. They are setting the hook and once the catch is on the line and cost of operation will not be a deal.

Blowing smoke up peoples' asses is the norm these days. Tell them what they want to hear and "sieg heil" 

[ScudRunner-d95]

[quote] It wasn't that long a go when natural gas was going to change it all and you could fuel up at home. People we jumping on that until regulations kicked in to prevent end running taxes.the catch is on the line and cost of operation will not be a deal.[/quote]

I recall our neighbors who ran an upholstery and carpet shop doing just that. The vans where slightly more but they saved a ton on fuel.

I guess the good thing about experimenting with electric float planes out there is when the engine quits you just land. Should be interesting to watch what happens, however I think this is most likely virtue signalling by Harbour Air to the hypocrite hippies out there who feel guilty not paddling a canoeing to Salt Spring Island for the weekend.

 

[David MacRay]

They should feel guilty too. Paddling is great excercise.

So do they have any of these Beavers online yet. (No pun intended)

[cgzro]

For those of you interested in the details of electric certified commercial aircraft there is a very interesting document in the FAA Federal Register which discusses the certification of an electric engine/system.

Basically the FAA has issued special conditions for these electric motors above and beyond the certification conditions for existing engines. eg: "The electric engine is exposed to chemical, thermal, and mechanical operating conditions that are unlike those observed in internal-combustion systems. Therefore, 14 CFR part 33 does not contain adequate safety standards for the magniX magni350 and magni650 model engines’ novel or unusual design feature."
This is not really a surprise, and likely will be very expensive to meet, but what is surprising (to me at least) is there is no mention of the battery systems. I would expect a similar set of special conditions to be imposed on the battery systems in any commercial electric?

Anyway it's an interesting read and no doubt the engine/battery manufacturers are going to need very deep pockets to get through this certification gauntlet.
For those following the Harbour Air electric commercial aircraft work, this set of special conditions is one of the reasons for the delay they are experiencing. Also curious is that the TC registry for the electric beaver (CF-JOS) still does not show any change from its previous certified version, what's up with that?


https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR- ... 0RYVpf-X2A

[Scudrunner]

Was out on the coast hoping to catch a peak at it but seamed to be business as usual with the diesel burners.

[mcrit]

When an engine reaches TBO you can overhaul it. When the battery packs in these things stop taking a charge (which they they will), how much to replace them?