Ampaire Aircraft - In addition to the flight demonstrations, Ampaire is participating in a U.S. Energy Department Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) project, Noertker said, “to use a derivative of the electric EEL platform as a flying testbed for advanced technologies, which may one day make it into commercial electric aviation.
That’s the next step for us in that electric EEL platform. ” For now, however, battery technology is sufficient for the Caravan STC program. "We're using existing technology, so we're not looking for magic," he said.
Ampaire Aircraft
“This is not science, it's engineering. A 200-watt-hour-per-kilogram pack is reasonable for a hybrid-electric system. We’ll integrate higher-density batteries over time. We do not see any major roadblocks regarding the core energy density of the batteries themselves. ”
Ampaire – Pioneering Commercial Electric Aircraft
Eventually, the hybrid-electric Caravan will transition to a plug-in version, where charging the batteries on the ground would extend the range and require less fuel to run the combustion engine. "If you're more electric, you use less hydrocarbon," he said, "which is better for the environment and decreases your operating costs further.
The way we're architecting it also does enable — if battery technology improves significantly, and there are some really smart people working on that — turning these into all-electric [aircraft], if and when that makes sense. ”
Looking to the future, Noertker strongly believes that this technology will pay off. “I absolutely love this big vision that we have within Surf Air Mobility for the broader market. This is what we're up to, to prove that all of those key factors are required to come together to fully scale this industry, "he said." This is what we're doing at Surf Air Mobility.
It's about the lower cost to operate planes, the efficient airline operations, the passenger aggregation. All of these are needed simultaneously to really scale out the industry. "The Cessna 337 modification is a first step," he said in a recent statement.
Gaining An Stc
“The next may be a hybrid or fully electric retrofit of a nine- to 19-passenger commuter / cargo aircraft. As batteries and powertrains mature, we will shift our focus to clean-sheet designs such as our nine-passenger, zero-emissions Tailwind concept. ”
The Eco Caravan can recharge its batteries in flight or at a charging stations on the ground. Because charging infrastructure will be limited for some years, the ability to operate independent of ground charging is critical for preserving the full utility of the Eco Caravan.
Los Angeles-based Ampaire was formed in 2016 with a mission to become the world's most-trusted developer of practical, compelling electric aircraft. The company is upgrading existing passenger aircraft to hybrid electric power – the quickest, most capital efficient approach to making commercial electric air travel a reality with available technology.
Ampaire has scored a series of industry firsts since the 2019 maiden flight of its Electric EEL technology testbed aircraft, including the longest flight for a hybrid-electric aircraft - 1,135 statute miles en-route from Los Angeles to Oshkosh, Wisconsin.
Dependability Affordability Sustainability
For more information about Ampaire, https://www.ampaire.com/. In any case, Kevin Noertker, Ampaire co-founder and CEO, told FutureFlight in a recent interview that this is still a “hybrid-electric” powertrain. "There are quite a few types of hybrid architectures," he explained, "so the electric EEL is a hybrid aircraft.
At a certain point when you're slicing a hybrid system up, it's a combustion element that provides power, an electric element that provides power, and depending on whether they're mechanically or electrically connected to the same shaft, this is where the architecture
is changed. "The short answer is yes," Noertker said. “The longer answer is, the market finds its balance of supply and demand based on the price point of operations. And that's either the profitability of the airline or the ticket price for the passenger.
We all have our thresholds. Maybe you're not willing to pay more than $ 250 round trip and you decide to drive instead. But as you bring those costs of operation down, you're able to make the airlines more profitable on routes that weren't previously profitable.
Trip Report Contour Airlines’ Essential Air Service From Plattsburgh Ny To Philadelphia
You may even be able to enable them to open up routes that they used to fly, but had to cut because of the lack of profitability. ” Headquartered in Hawthorne, California, Ampaire has been pioneering electric aircraft since 2016, with its first flight in 2019. Having first attracted this writer's attention in 2021 at the Society of Experimental Test Pilots (SETP) Virtual Symposium, Ampaire's objectives lie beyond electric urban air.
mobility (UAM), focusing instead on the future of commercial aviation. It's this objective that has defined their approach to developing the technology necessary for electric airlines of the future.if (typeof ez_ad_units! = 'Undefined') {ez_ad_units.push ([[580,400], 'airlinegeeks_com-medrectangle-4', 'ezslot_3
', 107,' 0 ',' 0 '])}; __ ez_fad_position (' div-gpt-ad-airlinegeeks_com-medrectangle-4-0 '); Using a hybrid-electric propulsion system, Ampaire’s Electric EEL - a modified Cessna 337 Skymaster - made history in December 2020 by completing the first-ever airline flight trial along an actual airline route.
The route, Kahului Airport to Hana Airport - both in Maui - allowed for the technology to be tested in real-world conditions, complete with weather, community needs, and operational schedule. The aircraft, having flown a total of 22 flights, demonstrated 100% dispatch reliability, while proving that a half-conventional engine and half-electric engine system demonstrated no reduction in take-off and climb performance.
Funding The Program
While SAF is a positive step forward, more is required, and it’s electrified aircraft that can deliver that ‘more’. Ampaire states: "These tangible environmental, humanitarian and economic benefits make us certain that air travel's future is electric." If (typeof ez_ad_units! = 'Undefined') {ez_ad_units.push ([[336,280], 'airlinegeeks_com-leader-1'
, 'ezslot_9', 109, '0', '0'])}; __ ez_fad_position ('div-gpt-ad-airlinegeeks_com-leader-1-0'); Ampaire has hired experts in FAA certification processes and is preparing to submit an application for the Caravan STC, according to Noertker. "Across our team — internal and external support — we've got over 100 STCs [obtained previously] under our belts," he said. "Bringing Textron Aviation into the fold, they have significant expertise in certification, and specifically on the Cessna Grand
Caravan. ” Plans call for certifying the hybrid-electric Caravan in 2024. Ampaire: Yes, the Hawaii flights with Mokulele Airlines on Maui demonstrated the feasibility of incorporating hybrid-electric aircraft into scheduled flight operations. We can say the same about our demonstration flights in the UK, working with regional carrier LoganAir plus 16 airports, power companies, government agencies and other stakeholders in the ecosystem.
Expanding electrical distribution at airports will require investment, but is far easier than creating an entirely new green hydrogen infrastructure, for example. So far, he added, “The EEL has exemplified and proven many of the benefits we had anticipated with hybrid-electric systems.
Caravan Technology
First was the fuel-burn reduction. In that configuration of hybrid, we measured a reduction of over 31 percent compared with the baseline aircraft. [This is] a meaningful demonstration of fuel reduction, which is one of the main value propositions of going hybrid-electric. ”
The Eco Caravan reduces fuel consumption and emissions by up to 70 percent. Emissions are near zero when using sustainable aviation fuel. Cost of operation is reduced by 25 to 40 percent depending on airline route structure.
Cost per available seat mile is near that of driving. Meanwhile, big name company Airbus is working on the E-Fan X hybrid-electric project and also created a concept aircraft with a design that mimics a bird of prey, with plans to make it a hybrid-electric turbo-propeller aircraft.
Today's landmark achievement adds momentum to a program that has attracted key customers and program participants in recent months. In October, the company announced a relationship with Air France Industries KLM Engineering and Maintenance (AFI KLM E&M) for a range of worldwide maintenance service and support activities.
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Also last month, Ampaire received an order from MONTE, a financier of sustainable regional aviation technologies, for up to 50 Eco Caravans. "These types of relationships ensure that Ampaire's customers worldwide have compelling financing and leasing support alongside world class maintenance / repair / overhaul support," said Noertker.
AG: Most airlines seem to be transitioning to SAF, but the step to follow this seems to be electric. How is Ampaire leading the way in electric aircraft development? Has hybrid been a more logical approach to addressing future aviation needs?
As Ampaire’s tests highlight, hybrid-electric aircraft is a viable solution - and the next step - to humanity’s focus on a greener world. Dependable, this technology not only matches the performances of conventional aircraft but offers answers to questions perhaps not initially considered.
The closure of the U.S.-Canada land border due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which remained in place for over two years between March 2020 and November 2022 was particularly hard for some of the regional airports in the U.S.
Eel Flight Ops
that heavily rely on Canadian passengers to generate traffic. Among those Plattsburgh… During takeoff and climb, the EEL runs both powerplants at full power; then at cruise and descent, less power is needed. "Depending on the route that we're flying, we have an optimized power balance between the two systems over the endurance of that flight," Noertker explained.
“You would optimize based on how far you need to fly and what state of charge you target the battery having at the end of the flight. That sets the amount of power you would draw from the electric system over the duration.
Then you take the balance of the power needed for cruise and you provide that with the combustion system. ” The EEL’s batteries are housed in a cargo pod mounted on the belly of the airplane.
The EEL has demonstrated flight operations in California and Hawaii and recently arrived in the UK to participate in the Future Flight Challenge. While the EEL did generate some interest as a commercial product, Noertker said, "we’re focusing our energy [on the Caravan] as a launch product."
Hybrid Aviation – The Next Step In Commercial Flight
While the initial flights, operated in partnership with Hawaii-based Mokulele, are being scheduled as a proof of concept, it’s hoped the aircraft will get official FAA certification by 2021 to allow it to enter full commercial service.
In the age of carbon reduction, the principle of greatest attention is propulsion. Racing to reduce carbon emissions, engine and fuel manufacturers alike have set their sights on sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) as a replacement for conventional jet fuels.
While a positive step, there is a question that must be answered: what next? Ampaire’s Dr. Susan Ying, SVP, Global Operations helped AirlineGeeks answer that very question. Flight marketplace Surf Air Mobility, which earlier this year announced plans to acquire Ampaire, is raising funds to see the Caravan STC project to completion.
"We have the core team in place and are actively hiring," Noertker said. “Anybody who reads this, go to our career site; There are plenty of opportunities. ” "But the principles behind it [are similar]," he continued.
What The Pilot Sees
"The algorithms to control the system safely or to do the battery energy management or the pilot interfaces and displays… all the systems engineering and requirements flow down to ensure the ultimate safe operation of that plane."
In what will likely be seen as a significant step toward improving the environmental credentials of air travel, Ampaire has retrofitted existing aircraft with electric powertrains, hoping to cut down C02 emissions and address high operating costs.
The Eco Caravan upgrades the standard Cessna Grand Caravan with Ampaire's integrated propulsion system of a compression ignition engine and an electric engine. A battery pack in a body fairing preserves passenger and cargo capacity for the aircraft.
As to the technology that will be employed to turn the Caravan into a hybrid-electric airplane, Noertker revealed some details, but others are still being held close to the vest. "The analogy I like to use is the system architecture looks and feels kind of like a Prius [hybrid-electric car]," he said. "It does not need to be charged or plugged in at each destination.
That’s important because… it mitigated two major issues with early electric cars. Number one was range anxiety. You couldn't go very far just on battery. Number two was a lack of charging infrastructure. Where would you plug in when you got to your destination? ”
From canvas to composites, the airplane as we know it has been redefined throughout the history of flight. Yet, despite the Wright Flyer having long faded into obsolescence, the principles of flight remain. Those principles - control, lift and propulsion - comprise a three-legged stool on which all aircraft must stand;
it's a stool that Ampaire understands well.if (typeof ez_ad_units! = 'undefined') {ez_ad_units.push ([[300,250], 'airlinegeeks_com-medrectangle-3', 'ezslot_4', 102, '0', '0'] )}; __ ez_fad_position ('div-gpt-ad-airlinegeeks_com-medrectangle-3-0'); That said, managing weight will be important, as is always the case in aircraft design.
"There are some technical challenges and areas where you need innovation in managing the weight of the system," Noertker said. "It's the thoughtful integration of thermal systems and structural systems to ensure that you have a safe, reliable, and high-performing system while minimizing the weight because anywhere we can minimize weight, you can maximize payload." He added that after the PT6 engine
is removed, the existing mounting structure will be used for the hybrid-electric support system and thermal and power management systems. Following a three-phase approach, Ampaire has outlined a plan that it believes will deliver electrified aircraft to the industry in the fastest and most reliable way possible.
The stages, aptly defined as ‘today’, ‘tomorrow’, and ‘beyond’, are far from realized; Ampaire validated its first stage in a project collaborated with Hawaiian airline Mokulele Airlines in 2020.if (typeof ez_ad_units! = 'Undefined') {ez_ad_units.push ([[250,250], 'airlinegeeks_com-box-4', 'ezslot_6', 103
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important; margin-top: 15px! important; max-width: 100%! important; min-height: 250px; min-width: 250px; padding: 0; text-align: center! important} "If we were using a traditional combustion engine, let's say we're putting a different type of [Pratt & Whitney] PT6 into the Caravan, it looks like maybe a 12-month program for that certification. Because the technology is relatively novel—
hybrid-electric — that's why we're saying 2024. But that one-year re-engineering is an order of magnitude less time than it would have taken for a new airplane. That's really what the strategic direction and decision were for us to not
invest in a new aircraft type for our first product. ” One aspect of advanced air mobility technology that Ampaire will not incorporate at this point is autonomous operation — flying without a pilot. Other companies, such as Xwing and Reliable Robotics, are developing autonomous Caravans, but Noertker doesn’t want to duplicate their efforts and spend valuable certification effort on autonomy.
"Our core value proposition that we're beginning with is electrification," he explained. But at some point, it may make sense to adopt autonomous technology for simplified pilot operation or reduced pilot count. With a background working on robotics for NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, he added, “When it comes to autonomous systems and navigation, this is a passion of mine.
So we've been very thoughtful about whether or not to include it in launch products. "
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