680 replies to this topic

[Victoria Watcher]

and it looks like a beaver can carry ~ 500 to 1200 lbs of liquid fuel.

[Victoria Watcher]

you can sign up to follow their e-plane news here:

 

https://visitor.r20....A2KgL66ipSspnk=

[aastra]

So we're saying harbour noise and fuel smell issues could disappear altogether? We need to invent some new controversies ASAP.

 

I have a suggestion. Part of the romance of aviation comes from the engine sounds. Thus, the CoV could spend a few million bucks installing PA systems to play simulated takeoff effects in sync with the actual planes. (After doing a series of expensive studies, I mean.)

[Victoria Watcher]

i think the electric engine might still make some great noise.

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 27 March 2019 - 01:59 PM.

[amor de cosmos]

more technical info from the ieee

https://spectrum.iee...o-take-off-soon

[Victoria Watcher]

more technical info from the ieee

https://spectrum.iee...o-take-off-soon

 

good find there is some good info in there.

[exc911ence]

well the tesla battery I guess has to last longer than 30 minutes.

it’s the whole weight to power ratio that is not favourable for aircraft.

anyway today’s tc article says they will start with the beaver. not the otters we see mostly in the harbour. it’ll have a 750hp engine. that compares to the ~1000hp engines on the otters that cost about $1 million each.

 

PT6 turbine in the Vazar Otter is 750hp, R985 radial in the Beaver is closer to 450hp.

 

The National Research Council just bought an old Cessna 337 for electric engine research. Their plan is to replace the rear-mounted opposed six cylinder piston engine with some sort of electric motor to drive the rear prop. The originally certified front-mounted piston engine will remain in situ. 

Anyone think that Harbour Air will get an electric airplane into the air before the NRC?

[Victoria Watcher]

i think boeing at jetblue are likely to win that race.

https://www.cnbc.com...rtup-zunum.html

[Victoria Watcher]

not to be overly cynical.  but does anyone else think this announcement buys ha a decade or more of holding off any complaints from songhees residents and a council all nuts about the climate crisis?

 

three days later there is a strange tc article today about how environmentally friendly the huge new clipper ferry is.

 

He went on to say MagniX is providing the test system for free and the actual cost of the systems will be worked in on a future business plan, but he foresees no insurmountable technical hurdles to a successful outcome of the program.

 

 

https://www.vicnews....oss-the-strait/

 

quite frankly it might just be an easy win for ha by lending out a spare aging beaver for some free work.

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 28 March 2019 - 05:42 PM.

[Jackerbie]

So we're saying harbour noise and fuel smell issues could disappear altogether? We need to invent some new controversies ASAP.

 

I have a suggestion. Part of the romance of aviation comes from the engine sounds. Thus, the CoV could spend a few million bucks installing PA systems to play simulated takeoff effects in sync with the actual planes. (After doing a series of expensive studies, I mean.)

 

Wasn't that one of the issues with electric cars? Pedestrians couldn't hear them coming. Don't want the float planes sneaking up on kayakers now, do we?

 

And then there are the new F1 engines that are too quiet, so modifications were made to the exhaust system to make them louder.

[spanky123]

PT6 turbine in the Vazar Otter is 750hp, R985 radial in the Beaver is closer to 450hp.

 

The National Research Council just bought an old Cessna 337 for electric engine research. Their plan is to replace the rear-mounted opposed six cylinder piston engine with some sort of electric motor to drive the rear prop. The originally certified front-mounted piston engine will remain in situ. 

Anyone think that Harbour Air will get an electric airplane into the air before the NRC?

 

Getting a plane in the air with no passengers or cargo for a 15 minute test flight is something that I think the NRC can do.

[spanky123]

i think boeing at jetblue are likely to win that race.

https://www.cnbc.com...rtup-zunum.html

 

That is a hybrid plane.

[Victoria Watcher]

 

https://www.cbc.ca/n...-lake-1.5188553

 

happens sometimes also when standard planes land at airports without deploying their landing gear. they realize only after proprellers hit the ground.

 

 

[Victoria Watcher]

here is an update I received from harbour air today.



With the delivery and successful installation of the magniX motor, we are working hard to connect the internal systems in preparation for its first flight. With incredible work being completed each day and a number of integral components being delivered over the next few weeks, we are in the midst of some of the most exciting and critical development work. Currently, we are on track for the first test flight to take place before the end of the year, and hope to have a concrete time-frame by mid-November to share.

Fresh – electric – paint job complete!
As of October 23, 2019, the following work has been completed:
Aircraft painted and decals applied
Motor mount received and installed
Ground charging station arrived and wired in
Battery mounts fabricated and installed
Cockpit reconfigured and modified
Aircraft installed on floats
Motor arrived and installed
Inverters arrived and installed
Inverter cooling system developed and installed
magniX team arrived on site to work with Harbour Air team
Wiring harnesses being built
Inverters and motor calibrated
Software development being completed on site
First battery string arrived
Worked through regulatory requirements to achieve first test flight
magniX test equipment installed
28V system install completed and checked

Next steps:
Receive final battery strings
Receive and install BMU (Battery Management Unit)
Put power on and begin testing
Continue to develop and connect wiring harnesses

[Matt R.]

Wildest float plane ride ever for me today. Boarded on time, then spent 15 minutes on the water doing figure 8’s and such before heading back towards the dock, then the pilot gunned it and away we went.

Bumpy, lots of fishtailing in the air and we went quite high up. Definitely a different route than normal. Sure beats the ferry though...

Matt.

[Victoria Watcher]

some good photos of the electric here:

https://www.cheknews...of-year-617341/

[Victoria Watcher]

i did not know that harbour air flew seattle-vancouver.

 

Harbour Air runs half of a regular flight between Vancouver and Seattle. The service—launched in April 2018 with Kenmore, Wash.-headquartered Kenmore Air—gets passengers from downtown to downtown in about an hour. The route connects the two cities’ tech ecosystems at a time when U.S. tech giants like Microsoft and Amazon are adding thousands of jobs in Canada’s western tech hub. And it comes as elected officials and executives in British Columbia and Washington are trying to establish the Cascadia Innovation Corridor, an umbrella brand for partnerships between governments, companies and universities on either side of the border. 

 

https://dailyhive.co...er-seattle-2018

 

https://thelogic.co/...ction-take-off/

 

 

anyway on december 11th they will test fly their electric plane out of vancouver.

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 30 November 2019 - 06:11 AM.

[amor de cosmos]

Glacier MediaHarbour Air plans to test-fly what it calls the “world’s first fully electric commercial aircraft” on Dec. 11 at Vancouver International Airport’s south terminal.

The Beaver seaplane is retrofitted with a 750 horsepower all-electric magni500 propulsion system, Harbour Air said.

The airline said that the following has been completed for the upcoming test flight:

• All batteries are installed.

• A battery-management unit is installed.

• All systems are connected and tested.

• Power is turned on and static testing is completed.

• The plane’s propeller has turned using only battery power.

• Full-power test runs on the ground have been done.

• Wings are installed.

• Flight controls are rigged.

The next steps include continuing to check systems, and testing to ensure crews are prepared.

https://www.timescol...lane-1.24023399

[Victoria Watcher]

that's a very awkwardly written article.  a hurried re-write of a press release likely.

 

good thing they consulted the checklist for "install wings".  that would have been a real embarrassment if on the first test-flight they had not installed the wings.  and it just hit maximum take-off speed but did not lift off of the water and just crashed up onto the beach on the north shore.  that could inadvertently set back electric planes by decades.

 

pilot:  approaching lift-off velocity

vancouver tower:  you are clear for take-off harbour eleven-eighty-eight

pilot:  roger vancouver tower.  clear for take-off

pilot: vancouver tower we are not going up

pilot: request return to base vancouver tower

vancouver tower: we have you on visual harbour eleven-eighty-eight.  do you have wings?

pilot: say again vancouver tower

vancouver tower: we have you on visual harbour eleven-eighty-eight it looks like you have no wings

pilot: say again vancouver tower.  no wings?

vancouver tower: roger harbour eleven-eighty-eight no wings visible

pilot: - - - 

pilot: - - - 

pilot: (consults electric conversion check-list)

pilot: - - -  

pilot: request again return to base vancouver tower

pilot: via water

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 30 November 2019 - 10:55 AM.

[Jackerbie]

^ Considering the test will be in Richmond, that's quite the feat if they manage to crash into the north shore!