Electrifying airplanes is the next frontier in e-mobility, and the Ampaire Eco Caravan takes a Cessna and turns it into a flying hybrid.
Ampaire has received a firm order for 25 Eco Caravans from Monte Aircraft Leasing, a “sustainable regional aircraft financier”, placed an order for 25 Eco Caravans from Ampaire. The Eco Caravan takes the standard Cessna Grand Caravan and installs a RED Aircraft A03 engine that can reduce fuel consumption by up to 70%. The compression ignition engine is rated at 550HP and can still carry 11 passengers, or up to 2,500 pounds of cargo.
“The Eco Caravan is our starting point for a revolution in air travel,” said Ampaire CEO Kevin Noertker. “It brings cost per available seat mile down to the range of driving, benefiting operators and their passengers. It dramatically shrinks the aircraft’s carbon footprint. The propulsion technology is scalable, and we intend to quickly move toward larger regional aircraft and even the single-aisle jet market over time.”
Ampaire has been extensively testing this new form of hybrid air travel, flying a converted Cessna Skymaster 1,135 miles to the Oshkosh show from its headquarters near Los Angeles. This trip included the longest-ever nonstop flight by a hybrid-electric aircraft, from Mojave in California to Hays in Kansas. Ampaire hopes to get FAA certification later this year before beginning full-scale production.
SOURCE | IMAGE: FUTUREFLIGHT.
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