In what has been described as the first-ever for the aviation industry, an all-electric powered seaplane took off in Vancouver in Canada in December 2019. The plane took off for its 10-minute flight on the Fraser River in Richmond, BC.
The plane, called eBeaver, is a collaboration between the Vancouver-based company Harbour Air and Washington-based magniX.
The CEO of Harbour Air, Greg McDougall was also the pilot of this flight. This short test flight involved a six-passenger DHC-2 de Havilland Beaver aircraft, powered by a 750-horsepower magni500 propulsion system.
Today, we made history. Launching the world’s first electric commercial aircraft retrofitted with a 750 horsepower all-electric magni500 propulsion system. Thank you to our amazing maintenance team and our partners at @MagniX for all your efforts! Together, we did it! 👏 #ePlane pic.twitter.com/Rhw35BRnqB
— Harbour Air Seaplanes (@HarbourAirLtd) December 10, 2019
“This historic flight signifies the start of the third era in aviation – the electric age,” Harbour Air and magniX said in a statement.
This flight is a major milestone as electric flights could slash carbon emissions greatly in the aviation sector, which is currently one of the fastest-growing sources of greenhouse emissions.
Could this usher in a new era in aviation? Only time will tell.
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