Photo: Harbour Air
Last Thursday, a seaplane called "eBeaver" successfully landed after a 45 miles (72.4 km) test flight that lasted for 24 minutes. It took off at 08:12 and landed at 08:36 with battery to spare.
The plane's course started from the Fraser River in the Lower Mainland and ended in Patricia Bay on the coast of Vancouver Island. The company behind this achievement is Harbour Air, a floatplane service company from Richmond, British Columbia, Canada.
As a quick side note, a floatplane is a type of seaplane that does pretty much what it sounds like. It's equipped with floats under the fuselage to provide buoyance in order to land on water rather than on its hull. It's also called a pontoon plane, regularly used for short commercial trips.
The fondly nicknamed “eBeaver” is just a De Havilland DHC-2 Beaver aircraft that was modified or retrofitted to completely shave off its dependency on regular fuel to adopt a more environmentally friendly mode of transportation.
In other words, out with the old ICE Pratt & Whitney engine and in with the new all-electric one that provides 750 HP (760 PS). It was produced in 2019 in partnership with an electric motor manufacturer, magniX, headquartered in Everett, Washington, United States.
Just like its first flight back in 2019, this major milestone of the electric aircraft is just another step along the way towards the company's fully electric future. Harbour Air hopes to have regular passengers onboard starting from 2023.
The e-plane will remain in Victoria for the time being in order to bring to fruition the partnership between Harbour Air and the British Columbia Aviation Museum.
On the 20th of August, the Musem will be hosting an Open House. Afterward, the “eBeaver” will be flying back to Harbour Air’s Aerospace Maintenance Facility at Vancouver International Airport (YVR) for its regular "checkup."
As a quick side note, a floatplane is a type of seaplane that does pretty much what it sounds like. It's equipped with floats under the fuselage to provide buoyance in order to land on water rather than on its hull. It's also called a pontoon plane, regularly used for short commercial trips.
The fondly nicknamed “eBeaver” is just a De Havilland DHC-2 Beaver aircraft that was modified or retrofitted to completely shave off its dependency on regular fuel to adopt a more environmentally friendly mode of transportation.
In other words, out with the old ICE Pratt & Whitney engine and in with the new all-electric one that provides 750 HP (760 PS). It was produced in 2019 in partnership with an electric motor manufacturer, magniX, headquartered in Everett, Washington, United States.
Just like its first flight back in 2019, this major milestone of the electric aircraft is just another step along the way towards the company's fully electric future. Harbour Air hopes to have regular passengers onboard starting from 2023.
The e-plane will remain in Victoria for the time being in order to bring to fruition the partnership between Harbour Air and the British Columbia Aviation Museum.
On the 20th of August, the Musem will be hosting an Open House. Afterward, the “eBeaver” will be flying back to Harbour Air’s Aerospace Maintenance Facility at Vancouver International Airport (YVR) for its regular "checkup."
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