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Ampaire Inc., a pioneer in hybrid electric aircraft systems, has recently announced the acquisition of Talyn Air Inc.’s assets. Talyn Air, known for its innovative electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft systems, will now join forces with Ampaire to drive further profitable growth and explore attractive opportunities in adjacent defense, drone, and eVTOL markets.

This strategic acquisition will not only expand Ampaire’s intellectual property and contracts portfolio with eight additional patents and seven government contracts with sole-source follow-on rights, but also multiply the applications for its groundbreaking hybrid electric propulsion systems. These systems have already been flown over 18,000 miles – the highest hybrid electric flight time in the industry – integrated into general aviation and regional turboprop commercial aircraft.

Kevin Noertker, CEO of Ampaire, expressed enthusiasm about the acquisition, stating that the integration of Talyn’s technology into Ampaire’s strong technical foundation would immediately boost revenue growth. Furthermore, this collaboration would enable the company to extend its reach into the lucrative drone and eVTOL sectors for both commercial and defense applications.

Talyn Air, founded in 2019 and headquartered in Los Angeles, has made significant strides in the aviation industry, showcasing advanced aircraft technologies in flight and establishing vital relationships with commercial and government customers. The company has also secured crucial contracts with various Department of Defense entities, including innovative projects with NAVAIR Aircraft Division, the USAF 621st Contingency Response Wing, and participation in the AFWERX TACFI design / build / fly program under Agility Prime.

Jamie Gull, CEO of Talyn, expressed excitement about the partnership with Ampaire, affirming that their collective vision for advancing aviation and promoting a greener future would be realized through this collaboration. By leveraging Ampaire’s industry-leading solutions, Talyn’s innovative technology will offer capabilities to the aviation sector greater than the sum of their parts.

Ampaire, established in 2016 and headquartered in Los Angeles, is driven by a mission to become the world’s most trusted developer of practical and compelling electric aircraft. Their hybrid electric and electric propulsion technologies have found applications across various aircraft types. The company has achieved numerous industry firsts, including the longest flight for a hybrid electric aircraft and the maiden flight of the world’s largest hybrid electric plane, the hybrid electric Eco Caravan aircraft, in 2022.

Why it’s important: This strategic acquisition marks a significant milestone in Ampaire’s journey to become an industry leader in electrified aviation. With an expanded portfolio of cutting-edge technology and programs, Ampaire is poised to offer customers the most experienced hybrid electric propulsion capabilities, catering to drones, fixed-wing aircraft, and eVTOL aircraft alike.

Related:

• Ampaire releases Hybrid Electric Propulsion Whitepaper
• Ampaire Receives Order for 6 Hybrid-Electric Aircraft from Conecta, Subsidary of Azul Airlines

Ampaire released a 20 page Whitepaper in late June which details the primary benefits of hybrid electric propulsion, named the Executive Guide 1.0. This guide focuses on the current technological readiness of hybrid electric propulsion systems that Ampaire’s aircraft feature and why the current landscape best supports hybrid electric propulsion solutions, at least until battery energy densities increase beyond what is currently available.

In fours primary sections, the document outlines the basics of hybrid electric vs. all electric propulsion, then details the basic system of hybrid electric propulsion. It examines hydrogen and sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) advancements and projections for renewable energy source integration into the greater aviation powertrain ecosystem in the future.

The Whitepaper also outlines the ways hybrid electric systems benefit the efficiency and capabilities of aircraft, and how Ampaire specifically distributes their energy generation from ICE and battery sources during a flight. Another unique component of the analysis is the trade study of hydrogen or SAF use in smaller airplanes. While Ampaire has adopted the hybrid approach, companies like ZeroAvia are beginning to work on larger scale hydrogen fuel cell adaptations for turbine motors. ZeroAvia currently uses hydrogen fuel cell technology to power its Bombardier Q400 turboprop which is undergoing flight testing in Moses Lake, Washington and has future plans to convert a Dornier 228 to run on hydrogen.

Why it’s important: Fully electric aircraft are in our aviation future, but current models are challenged by battery energy density limits and battery weights that remain unchanged during energy consumption. On the contrary, once jet fuel is burned it results in a total aircraft weight reduction, allowing for increased performance. Accordingly, many OEMs are focusing on hybrid propulsion systems that leverage the benefits of internal combustion engines and battery technology for certain phases of flight, a best of both worlds approach given the current technological landscape. Analysts project that full electrification of small to regional jet sized airplanes is possible within the next decades, however large wide-body aircraft are not likely to see electrification given the current landscape; sustainable aviation fuel will likely serve as a means to offset total carbon lifecycle emissions for larger, longer range aircraft.

Read the full Whitepaper on Ampaire’s website here.

Related:

• Ampaire Receives Order for 6 Hybrid-Electric Aircraft from Conecta, Subsidary of Azul Airlines
• Ampaire Wins NASA Award for Innovative Hybrid Powerplant System Research

Ampaire, a company developing a fleet of hybrid-electric propulsion aircraft, has received an order from Azul’s Conecta regional airline in South Brazil. Conecta currently serves over 84 destinations in the country.

Ampaire’s current line of aircraft includes converted Cessna Grand Caravans, which it retrofits with hybrid-electric propulsion powertrains to create it’s ‘Eco-Caravan‘ Aircraft.

The regional Brazilian Airline Conecta already operates a fleet of 27 Grand Caravans. Through the partnership, Ampaire will upgrade six of these aircraft to ‘Eco-Caravans’ with hybrid-electric propulsion.

This work will include converting Conecta’s Caravans to hybrid-electric propulsion by installing Ampaire’s  AMP-H570 hybrid-electric powertrain and battery pack. With this purchase, Conecta hopes to lower operating costs on its fleet by 25% or more, as well as meet its newest sustainability goals.

Notably, Conecta is a regional subsidiary of Brazil’s largest airline, Azul. Azul’s passengers may use Conecta aircraft for shorter-distance regional flights.

“We are thrilled to work with the visionary team at Azul Conecta,” said Ampaire CEO Kevin Noertker. “They are among a group of established air carriers ready to embrace a hybrid-electric solution, providing leadership for an entire industry.”

Said Flavio Costa, Azul Conecta´s CEO, “After evaluating a range of technologies, including fully-electric and hydrogen fuel cells, we concluded that Ampaire moves us toward our ESG goals much sooner. Azul Conecta has innovation as a mission and sees the upgrade to the Eco Caravan as a major innovation that accelerates our path to sustainability, maintaining a safety standard in our operations, which is our first and non-negotiable value.”

In addition, Azul will also work in consultation with Ampaire to develop electric aircraft charging infrastructure  across Conecta bases and at other airports.

The Azul Conecta order follows the first flight of the Eco Caravan in November 2022 and the announcement days later of a $9 million award from the U.S. Department of Energy to help Ampaire advance systems so that they are ready for FAA certification and series production.

Why it’s Important: This announcement marks one of the first purchases by a major airline for hybrid-electric aircraft. By upgrading its aircraft to hybrid-electric propulsions through Ampaire, Conecta has the potential to significantly reduce operating costs, and initiate a major change in the regional airline industry. As the developments of these aircraft and partnerships begin to grow, we may soon see hybrid-propulsion entering service on larger fixed-wing aircraft as well.

Ampaire has won a $150,000 Phase 1 award from NASA under its Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) program. The award is for the High Efficiency Powertrain for Hybrid Aircraft (HEPHA) project. The new AMP Drive AMP-H270 Configuration for smaller aircraft features distributive propulsion technology and can serve multiple markets.

The Phase 1 award will fund sizing, architecture and other analytical studies over six months as a prelude to a potential Phase 2 award that would fund the system’s installation and testing on Ampaire’s Cessna Skymaster testbed aircraft, the ARPA-E Bird. This aircraft has also been used for previous research by the Department of Energy’s ARPA-E advanced programs unit. It will play a role in a $9 million ARPA-E SCALEUP award announced November 22, 2022 to mature individual systems that will eventually be certified on Ampaire’s nine-passenger, hybrid-electric Eco Caravan.

“These wins from NASA and the DOE recognize Ampaire’s leadership in electrified aviation. They also recognize the near-term potential to field hybrid-electric aircraft that will revolutionize aviation by lowering emissions and the cost of travel,” said Ampaire CEO Kevin Noertker.

Under the new NASA SBIR program, the ARPA-E Bird would be equipped with a hybrid propulsion drivetrain in the nose and an electric drive system in the rear for a multi-mode hybrid system.  Ultimately, the system could be certified for light aircraft or used as part of larger power systems on regional aircraft and even transport category single-aisle jets.

The new AMP Drive AMP-H270 powertrain is a 270 kW system that has about half the power output of the AMP-H570 system that powers the Eco Caravan. The new drive system combines an ultra-efficient DHK180A4 compression ignition engine from DeltaHawk Engines of Racine, WI with an integrated electrical drive designed by Ampaire. The DeltaHawk engine runs on Jet-A and compatible sustainable aviation fuels. The Ampaire solution for the testbed aircraft provides a 45 percent cruise efficiency gain over the conventional combustion engines it replaces and double the efficiency of comparable gas turbines.

Why it’s important: Ampaire’s award from NASA underscores that importance of their hybrid-electric propulsion research and also the growing sentiment of the advantages of hybrid-electric powertrains as a bridge between current existing technologies and fully electric aircraft. The research being done at Ampaire will directly apply to their aircraft in the near-term, and help to accelerate learnings of electric powertrains in operation in various aviation arenas.

Ampaire, a leader in hybrid-electric aviation, has received a firm order for 25 Eco Caravans from MONTE, a financier of sustainable regional aviation technologies. The agreement also includes an option for an additional 25 Eco Caravan order and codifies the parties’ Preferred Partner relationship.

“MONTE is looking to build a fleet of low emission and zero emission aircraft to lease or finance for regional aircraft operators worldwide. Ampaire has emerged as the leading hybrid-electric technology provider. Its Eco Caravan will be very attractive for a segment of our operators, thanks to its wide performance envelope and ability to operate without ground charging infrastructure where necessary,” according to MONTE’s Investment Director, Timothy Eyre.

The Eco Caravan is a hybrid-electric upgrade of the Cessna Grand Caravan. The Eco Caravan can reduce fuel and emissions as much as 70 percent on shorter trips and 50 percent on longer ones, while preserving payload capability and extending range. When flown on sustainable aviation fuel, it is effectively carbon neutral. The Eco Caravan’s operating cost is 25 to 40 percent lower than the Cessna Grand Caravan depending on the type of missions flown. The aircraft can recharge its batteries in flight, meaning it can use any airport that Caravans fly from today, regardless of ground charging capability.

In July of this year, Ampaire’s EEL hybrid-electric aircraft demonstrator completed a 1,125 mile flight from Los Angeles to Oshkosh, Wisconsin, which was the longest nonstop flight ever made by a hybrid-electric aircraft. Upon arrival, it was positioned on display at EAA AirVenture’s most prominent location—Boeing Plaza.

Related:

• Air France Industries Partners with Ampaire to Advance Electric Aviation Infrastructure – Oct 2022
• WingTips Orders Five of Ampaire’s Hybrid-Electric Grand Caravan Aircraft, Options for 20 More – Aug 2022

“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.”

The nine-passenger Eco Caravan is undergoing ground power tests and will fly later this year. It is the first hybrid-electric aircraft to enter the certification process with the FAA. A supplemental type certification for the upgraded aircraft is expected in 2024. It will therefore offer the earliest opportunity for regional carriers to fly in the most sustainable way possible.

Why it’s important: By upgrading existing passenger aircraft to hybrid-electric power, Ampaire is arguably employing the quickest, most efficient approach to making commercial electric air travel a reality with available technology. This order from MONTE supplements other recent orders for the hybrid-electric aircraft and confirms the strong interest that many commercial operators have in the new technology. MONTE has a goal of becoming the first carbon neutral aircraft leasing company in the world by 2027, and by choosing Ampaire, the company conveys that it believes the Eco Caravan will be the first available aircraft to achieve this goal.

Source // Ampaire press release

Air France Industries KLM Engineering & Maintenance has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Ampaire, a company developing a family of hybrid-electric aircraft, to develop global resources for electric aircraft support and advancement.

Above: Ampaire’s proof of concept aircraft, which already set the record for the longest ever flight by a hybrid-electric aircraft at 1,075 miles

Ampaire has been developing electric and hybrid-electric aircraft concepts since its formation in 2016, with the mission to become the world’s most-trusted developer of practical electric aircraft. Currently, the company is in the process of certifying its nine-seat, hybrid-electric Eco Caravan, with an introduction to service planned for 2024, and plans to next create a larger 19-passenger aircraft.

In Ampaire’s new partnership with Air France Industries KLM Engineering & Maintenance, the two companies will work together to create global resources for electric aircraft support and development. These will include electric aircraft maintenance training programs, Supplemental Type Certificate (STC) upgrades, and potential component pooling and operational data analysis to ensure optimal support.

Said Kevin Noertker, founder Ampaire and CEO of Ampaire, “Ampaire and AFI KLM E&M will work together to explore maintenance support for game-changing low-emissions aircraft on a worldwide basis. AFI KLM E&M’s powerful global network and strong expertise will give operators everywhere high technical confidence in new propulsion systems. These systems will also provide optimized maintenance costs compared to conventional turbines.”

For Air France Industries KLM Engineering & Maintenance, the goal of the program is to make AFI KLM E&M a preferred global preferred partner for electric aircraft maintenance and training. Said Ton Dortmans, EVP KLM Engineering & Maintenance, “This MoU anticipates a future with expanded new ways of air transportation options hand-in-hand with lower emissions. We have chosen to collaborate with Ampaire because their approach is visionary and also extremely methodical and practical, which means these beneficial technologies can be already introduced in the very near future.”

The companies are also planning to collaborate on STC installations of Ampaire’s hybrid-electric upgrades through the airline’s global MRO network.

Why it’s important: With this announcement, Air France industries joins the growing number of major airlines investing in electric aviation. By forming this partnership early, AFI KLM E&M has signaled its belief that Ampaire will become a major electric aircraft provider, and has begun laying groundwork to make itself one of the world’s top providers in electric aircraft maintenance and support globally.

Source // Ampaire

Related:

• Delta and Joby to Partner for Seamless Home-to-Airport Transportation (October 2022)
• WingTips Orders Five of Ampaire’s Hybrid-Electric Grand Caravan Aircraft, Options for 20 More (August 2022)
• Ampaire to Collaborate with Black & Veatch on Electric Aircraft Infrastructure (June 2022)

WingTips, a California-based aerial mobility provider, has announced a firm order for 5 of Ampaire’s hybrid-electric propulsion Eco Caravan fixed-wing aircraft, with options for 20 more and expansion plans for around 175 total aircraft.

Above: Rendering of Ampaire’s Eco Caravan, able to carry up to 9 passengers and operate without electric charging infrastructure

Ampaire’s Eco Caravan is based on the Cessna Grand Caravan, retrofitting a hybrid-electric propulsion system onto the original Cessna 208B Grand Caravan body. With this adaptation, the aircraft is able to offer fuel savings of up to 70% on short-hop routes and over 50% on long-haul flights, while still carrying 9 passengers or 2500 lbs of cargo for up to 800 miles per flight.

The Eco-Caravan’s extreme fuel savings over traditional combustion aircraft has made it an excellent option for WingTips, a regional air charter company currently growing and operating in California, Arizona, and Nevada. According to a recent press release, WingTips plans to to use these new aircraft on regional routes of 100 to 400 statute miles, flying from general aviation airports.

WingTips, recently seeking to modernize its business with services, uses artificial intelligence to offer individual seats to on-demand charter passengers, as well as utilizing advanced floating fleet algorithms to optimize fleet usage according to customer demands. Essentially, this means that unlike airlines which have fixed schedules, WingTips offers flights that aggregate customer requests to find the best flight times and routes.

Above: A Cessna Eco Caravan being constructed and tested at Ampaire facilities.

WingTips hopes to utilize the Eco Caravan to both lower costs and expand its flight offerings. Said WingTips founder and CEO Mike Azzarello, “The Eco Caravan will redefine operating cost through its extreme efficiency. Our objective is to close the gap with the cost of driving while cutting travel time up to 75 percent. Working with Ampaire, we’ll be able to achieve this in a sustainable way. The Eco-Caravan operates within existing airport infrastructure, putting us years ahead of competitors that need major infrastructure investment in order to operate.”

Notably, Ampaire has already flight tested a smaller proof-of-concept aircraft, at one point using it to fly the longest route to date for an aircraft powered partially by electric propulsion. With many flight tests performed using this aircraft, named the ‘EEL‘, Ampaire has gained the expertise it needs to advance to larger aircraft. Currently, the company has plans to create aircraft that can carry up to 19 passengers or more.

Said Ampaire CEO Kevin Noertker, “Ampaire and WingTips share a vision of reducing the cost and increasing the convenience of regional air travel while addressing a major source of harmful greenhouse gas emissions. The starting point for moving toward zero emissions is with low-emission hybrid-electric aircraft such as the Eco Caravan.”

Above: Tail-end photo of the Ampaire Eco Caravan

Why it’s important: By significantly lowering the fuel and operating costs of these regional fixed-wing aircraft, companies like WingTips and Ampaire can change the industry for short to medium distance transportation. As vehicles like the Eco Caravan continue to lower prices closer to those of traveling by car, demand for this regional transportation will grow immensely, creating excellent opportunities for both new companies to form and middle-tier companies to expand. Together, these innovations should make on-demand regional air travel a more common part of many people’s lives.

Source // Ampaire

Related:

• Ampaire to Collaborate with Black & Veatch on Electric Aircraft Infrastructure (June 2022)
• Ampaire Will Complete Hybrid-Electric Flight Testing in the UK (March 2021)
• Ampaire Flies Longest Route to Date for an Electric Aircraft (November 2022)

Black & Veatch – a leader in sustainable infrastructure, renewable energy and transportation electrification – and Ampaire announced on Monday that they’ll collaborate on developing airport electrification that supports the electric aircraft requirements of the future.

The partnership between Black & Veatch and Ampaire was disclosed via press release Monday, and is quoted to “work to identify and evaluate opportunities to plan, engineer and construct infrastructure for electric air mobility at airports, working with early adopters in the Americas, Europe and Asia”.

The two companies signed a memorandum of understanding that will focus globally on creating reliable, clean-energy-powered charging and sustainable aviation fueling supply at a growing number of airports. The MoU also includes provisions for leveraging solar, energy storage and sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) supply chain development. The initiative seeks to include a broad range of air and ground side stakeholders who will benefit from shared infrastructure and Black & Veatch’s deep knowledge of power and communications infrastructure applied to this innovative industry sector. 

“Governments, companies and communities around the world are making lowering their carbon footprints a priority, and the transportation sector is helping accelerate positive change,” added Paul Stith, Black & Veatch’s associate vice president of global transportation initiatives. “Decarbonization of aviation is challenging and requires technology and collaboration. Tackling emissions with concurrent SAF and electrification strategies offers a shining example of what’s possible in doing things cleaner and greener, and we’re excited about working with Ampaire to reshape tomorrow’s air mobility through infrastructure and innovation.” 

Ampaire has helped to lead the charge of electrified regional aircraft, among other companies such as Eviation and VoltAero. Ampaire’s modified Cessna 337 Skymaster completed a 481 miles nonstop flight from Perth, Scotland, to Exeter in southwest England in August 2021 with its “Electric EEL” aircraft. The aircraft was modified with hybrid-electric propulsion, and is cited by Ampaire as longest flight by a commercial-sized, hybrid-electric aircraft to date.

The promise of electrified air mobility continues to grow, given the environmental benefits, their reduced fuel requirements and maintenance costs, and the sector’s lesser reliance on traditional fuels prone to price and supply fluctuations. While electrification carries vast potential in unleashing a new mobility market, expanding the industry rests significantly on deploying more charging and servicing infrastructure.

Why it’s important: The partnership between Ampaire and Black & Veatch will allow for quicker progress toward a network of charging and charging support installations that give operators of electric regional and short haul aircraft the access required to efficiently turn airplanes to support multiple flights per day. These sorts of infrastructure projects would then be able to support longer journeys as well, such as BETA Technology’s recent flight of their ALIA aircraft that spanned over 1,400 miles in 7 days. With more advanced charging infrastructure, or modular, replaceable batteries, these types of journeys could be significantly shortened in duration as down time on the ground is significantly reduced.

After being acquired by regional mobility company Surf Air, and completing several tests of its aircraft in Hawaii and California, Hybrid-Electric aircraft developer Ampaire will now begin flight demonstrations in the U.K.

The upcoming flights in the U.K are part of the new Towards Zero Emissions in Regional Aircraft Operations (2ZERO) program in the country, which has received a £2.4 million ($3.3 million) grant as part of the £30 million funding from the British government for its Future Flight Challenge. Initially, Ampaire will demonstrate its six-seat Electric EEL aircraft (a converted Cessna 337 SkyMaster), and later it will add the 19-seat Eco Otter SX, which is based on the Twin Otter.

Ampaire’s electric aircraft in flight over Hawaii

The 2ZERO consortium also includes several UK-based organizations, including Rolls-Royce Electrical, the University of Nottingham, regional airline Loganair, Exeter and Devon Airports, Cornwall Airport, the Southwest Local Enterprise Partnership, and UK Power Network Services. The goal of the collaboration is to evaluate how new hybrid-electric aircraft can be integrated with existing airport and airline operations, with flight testing at Exeter and Newquay airports in the southwest of England. Some of the partners will also be contributing financially to the program.

Ampaire has already tested the Electric EEL aircraft in Hawaii with local regional carrier Mokulele Airlines. In February, Surf Air Mobility acquired the start-up in a deal worth over $100 million.

Why it’s important: With its latest electric EEL aircraft, Ampaire is breaking records and leading the industry for sustained electric regional flight. Although Ampaire is not currently developing VTOL aircraft, its battery technology both proves out and pushes forward battery technology for electric flight, which will enable this technology for aerial mobility of all kinds, including eVTOL.

Surf Air Mobility, a new developmental department of regional air mobility provider Surf Air, has now acquired aviation hybrid-electric power train developer Ampaire shortly after the company set a record for the longest route to date with an electric aircraft. With this acquisition, Surf Air Mobility, formed in 2020, looks to improve “affordability, accessibility, and environmental footprint of regional travel”.

Surf Air Mobility was recently formed after Surf Air, a short-haul flight service provider, acquired Blackbird, an aviation marketplace that provides passengers the option of chartering private flights. Soon after being formed, Surf Air Mobility acquired a $200 million USD investment from Global Emerging Markets Group in order to go public. Now, Surf Air Mobility looks to provide an (eventually electric) alternative to driving or flying on commercial airlines for trips of 50-500 miles.

According to Surf Air Mobility co-founder and CEO Sudhin Shahani, “We see the near-term opportunity to transform existing turboprop aircraft across the entire industry as the first step to ultimately extend to fully electric aviation across all trip lengths.”

The Ampaire Electric EEL prototype, capable of flying up over 300 statute miles

Before the acquisition, Ampaire was working on developing hybrid-electric power trains for 9-19 seat piston and turboprop aircraft, currently possessing two propulsion testbeds from a modified Cessna 337 Skymaster. Additionally, Ampaire is now developing a megawatt-class, hybrid-electric propulsion conversion for the 19-seat twin-turboprop de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter.

According to Ampaire co-founder and CEO Kevin Noertker, “The same building blocks of the electrified power train from the Twin Otter can be applied to other turboprops in the Part 23 category, for example the Cessna Caravan. We’ll continue working on both.”
With the reduced direct operating costs of hybrid-electric aircraft, Surf Air Mobility will be “able to create a new kind of point-to-point network that opens up previously untenable markets with more direct connections,” says President Fred Reid. “With half of all U.S. flights 500 mi. or less, hybrid-electric technology will have an immediate and broad-reaching impact.”

Why it’s important: Surf Air Mobility’s acquisition of Ampaire will align Ampaire closer with aircraft operators to streamline development and deployment of their electric aircraft. According to the company, it will also enable Ampaire to address a wider range of aircraft for upgrade.
Source // Aviation Week Network

Ampaire is a Los Angeles-based company whose mission is to be the world’s most trusted developer of practical and compelling electric aircraft. To start, the company is retrofitting existing passenger aircraft to electric power – the quickest and most capital efficient approach to making commercial electric air travel a reality. Ampaire flew the largest hybrid electric aircraft at the time in May 2019, and they have recently accomplished the longest flight to date for any commercially relevant aircraft employing electric propulsion, in this case a hybrid-electric propulsion system.

Ampaire’s Electric EEL, a six-seat Cessna 337 twin-engine aircraft modified with an electric motor in the nose and traditional combustion engine in the rear, took off from Camarillo Airport just north of Los Angeles at 12:20 PM. Test pilot Justin Gillen and Flight Test Engineer Russell Newman, flew up California’s Central Valley at 8,500 feet, landing at Hayward Executive Airport at 02:52 PM. Straight line distance was 292 statute miles, and the route as flown 341 statute miles.

Speed during the cruise portion of the 2 hour, 32-minute flight averaged around 135 mph. “The mission was a quite normal cross-country flight that we could imagine electrified aircraft making every day just a few years from now,” Gillen said.

This milestone in electric aviation took place after four weeks of flight testing in the Camarillo area for this second Electric EEL test aircraft, which first flew on September 10th. In that period, the aircraft flew over 30 hours during 23 flights, in 28 days, with 100% dispatch reliability. “Our success in taking this aircraft in a short period from the test environment to the normal, everyday operating environment is a testament to our development and test organization, and to the systems maturity we have achieved with our second aircraft,” said Ampaire General Manager Doug Shane. A former president of Scaled Composites, Shane is one of the world’s foremost experts on the development and flight testing of new aviation concepts.

The EEL flown to Hayward is dubbed the Hawaiʻi Bird, as it will take part later this year in a series of demonstration flights with Hawaiʻi-based Mokulele Airlines on its short-haul routes. The flight trials with Mokulele will not only demonstrate the capabilities of the EEL but will help to define the infrastructure required for wide adoption of electric aviation by airlines and airports. These flight demonstrations will mark the first time an electrically-powered aircraft has flown under an FAA “Market Survey” experimental aircraft certificate in order to gain real-world flight experience.

In Hayward, the aircraft will be partially disassembled for shipment to Hawaiʻi. The Hawaiʻi flight trials are funded in part by Elemental Excelerator, a global climate-tech accelerator based in Honolulu.

The Electric EEL can generate fuel and emissions savings up to 50 percent on shorter regional routes where the aircraft’s electrical propulsion unit can be run at high power settings, and generate savings of about 30 percent on longer regional routes such as the Camarillo to Hayward flight.

“The Electric EEL is our first step in pioneering new electric aircraft designs,” said Ampaire CEO Noertker. “Our next step will likely be a 19-seat hybrid electric retrofit program that will lower emissions and operating costs, benefiting regional carriers, their passengers and their communities.” Ampaire, with funding from NASA and others, is in the midst of design studies for such an aircraft based on the popular de Havilland Twin Otter aircraft. Ampaire has named the hybrid-electric 19-seater aircraft the Eco Otter SX.

Why it’s important: Ampaire’s strategic approach to retrofitting existing aircraft has allowed the company to rapidly progress in the development of its propulsion technology and demonstrate the potential for making commercial electric air travel a reality. The Los Angeles-based startup has achieved so in the most capital-efficient manner, and is well-positioned to continue its progress given its current partnerships and funding. As said by Ampaire General Manager Doug Shane, “the ability to put innovative electric technologies into the air rapidly in order to assess and refine them is central to Ampaire’s strategy to introduce low-emissions aircraft for regional airlines and charter operators within just a few years.”

Related: Ampaire To Electrify Caravan, Twin Otter

Source // Ampaire press release

Ampaire is currently the developer of the highest capacity hybrid-electric aircraft ever flown. Last month, after the company’s successful flight of its hybridized Cessna 337 Skymaster, it announced a partnership with Personal Airline Exchange (PAX) which included an order for 50 Ampaire EEL Electric Aircraft. Mokulele Airlines on Maui has also taken interest in the EEL, and both airlines plan on offering passenger service late this year in Hawaii.

Just this week, Ampaire announced plans to bring hybrid-electric power to more models of existing aircraft, including the Cessna 208B Grand Caravan and Viking Twin Otter:

Cessna 208B Grand Caravan – Cessna’s largest single-engine airplane ever built, it has a range of 1232 miles and can carry up to 14 passengers. Photo // Swissphoto

Additionally, Ampaire has announced intentions to add a diesel-hybrid retrofit option for piston-powered aircraft. Company CEO Kevin Noertker said his company’s engine conversions cut fuel consumption by between 70 to 90 percent, reduce maintenance expense by 20 to 50 percent, and produce significantly quieter aircraft. According to Noertker, Ampaire currently holds contracts with the U.S. Air Force and NASA, and has received an investment from aircraft engine-maker Continental, in addition to the order for 50 EELs by PAX.

Noertker has said the market for bringing hybrid electric power to commuter aircraft could be worth more than $4 billion, noting that Norway has already set a goal of mandating all-electric aircraft on in-country flights of less than 90 minutes.

Viking Twin Otter – Originally a bush plane, the small commuter has a range of 887 miles and can carry up to 19 passengers. Photo // Aviation Tribune

Ampaire, while still waiting for certification, is well on its way to production in order to fulfill its backlog currently valued at $70 million. “Ampaire’s Electric EEL pre-production prototype is flying right now and performing beautifully,” said Noertker. “We look forward to operators being able to share the thrill of flying electric.”

See our previous article on Ampaire where you can find a clip of the Ampaire EEL in flight.

Why it’s important: Ampaire has chosen to specialize in engine conversions and leave airframe design and manufacturing other companies that have been perfecting these efforts for decades. This has allowed Ampaire to move both quickly and successfully in the electric aviation industry, which is evident by its flying prototype, fundraising success, and order backlog.

Sources // AINonline; Ampaire

Cyclorotor unveiled footage of the first flight of their Bumblebee2.0 concept with an Enhanced Propulsion system last week. The flight occurred at the end of August, 2023. This aircraft showcases a unique configuration, featuring four CR42 CycloRotors and an advanced flight control system. The launch of the outdoor flight campaign marks progress toward development of CYCLOROTOR’s unique aviation propulsion system.

The flight demonstration took place at a general aviation airport in Austria. CYCLOROTOR shares that their outdoor flight operations adhere to all applicable regulations set by the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), operating under the UAS operational authorization for the “specific” category.

Over the coming months, Cyclorotor plans to demonstrate the capabilities of its 360° thrust vectoring CycloRotors. These innovative propulsion units are based off of a design that’s over 100 years old and can challenge traditional aerial mobility industry aircraft configurations. However, not all are in agreement of the level of enhanced maneuverability, stability, and efficiency in flight offered by this unique configuration. CYCLOROTOR aims to systematically expand the flight envelope, further exploring and collecting data on the performance of their unique aircraft design.

While the debut of Bumblebee2.0 represents a unique application of a novel propulsion and lifting concept that is over a century old, it is important to note that this novel configuration may only partially permeate into limited applications in the drone industry. As with any unique configuration, widespread adoption often requires time and industry-wide acceptance in addition to successful, demonstrated performance.

Why it’s important: CYCLOROTOR has invited aviation enthusiasts, industry stakeholders, and the public to stay tuned for more updates as they continue to push the boundaries of what is possible in the world of aerial mobility. While their novel configuration is still not proven for widespread application, the team is making strides toward advancement of a unique type of aircraft and collecting data that can be used to improve future variants.