B.C. seaplane company tests the first commercial electronic plane
Posted December 10, 2019 1:00 am.
Last Updated December 10, 2019 11:45 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
RICHMOND — The world’s first all-electric commercial aircraft lifted off Tuesday from the Harbour Air Seaplane terminal in Richmond.
The seaplane company announced in March that it had partnered with engineering firm MagniX in Washington state with the goal of becoming the world’s first all-electric airline.
Harbour Air CEO Greg McDougall says in a video statement that he’s convinced the future of aviation is electrified and he’s proud to be part of the conversion to e-planes.
The test flight was moved up from Wednesday to avoid a change in the weather in the Vancouver area. The retrofitted Beaver seaplane was piloted by McDougall during the test.
The plane is powered by a 750 horsepower electric motor.
Harbour Air covers 12 routes and operates about 30,000 flights a year between Vancouver, Victoria, Seattle and other locations.
