Harbour Air has 42 planes and 12 routes. It鈥檚 adding a zero-emission electric plane to its fleet. Photograph By ADRIAN LAM, TIMES COLONIST
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 鈥� 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, 麻豆传媒映画and Seattle. It is North America鈥檚 largest seaplane airline, serving 500,000 passengers on 30,000 commercial flights every year.
鈥淭he intent is to eventually convert the whole fleet,鈥� said Harbour Air founder and CEO Greg McDougall of the move to electric planes. 鈥淚t 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.
鈥淏ut that鈥檚 changing very rapidly with the development of the battery technology.鈥�
The first plane to be converted will be the six-passenger DHC-2 de Havilland Beaver, which is used throughout the Harbour Air network.
鈥淭he first one would be a prototype, which is basically proving the technology for Transport Canada and getting toward certification,鈥� McDougall said.
Harbour Air is taking on the electric-plane venture with Washington state鈥檚 magniX 鈥� 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.
鈥淚f you think about it, it鈥檚 the evolution of transportation toward electric propulsion,鈥� he said. 鈥淭he internal combustion engine is all but obsolete, really, for future development.
鈥淚t鈥檚 all about electric.鈥�
Harbour Air is looking to get all needed approvals in a timely way as it moves toward electric power, McDougall said.
鈥淲e don鈥檛 want to be trying to get through the regulatory process after it becomes more economically viable, we want to do it now.鈥�
Price comparisons between standard and electric planes are difficult to make because Harbour Air is still in the research-and-development phase, he said.
鈥淲hat we鈥檙e 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鈥檛 have to be rebuilt every 2,500 to 3,000 hours.
鈥淚t鈥檚 got very few moving parts and it doesn鈥檛 consume fossil fuel.鈥�
Roei Ganzarski, magniX CEO, said that in 2018, 75 per cent of the world鈥檚 airline flights were about 1,600 kilometres or shorter, which is where Harbour Air fits in.
鈥淲ith magniX鈥檚 new propulsion systems coupled with emerging battery capabilities, we see tremendous potential for electric aviation to transform this heavily trafficked 鈥榤iddle mile鈥� range,鈥� he said in a statement.
He said his company鈥檚 partnership with Harbour Air 鈥渨ill set the standard for the future of commercial aviation operators.鈥�
