Electric Flight Technologies for Commercial Aviation – Dash 7 from Air Tindi

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magniX Announces Milestone in NASA Program to Accelerate Electric Flight Technologies for Commercial Aviation – Dash 7 from Air Tindi – Canadian Aviation News (wordpress.com)

VERETT, Wash., April 28, 2022 /CNW/ — magniX, a manufacturer of electric propulsion systems for aircraft, today announced two key industry partners, AeroTEC and Air Tindi, for its NASA Electrified Powertrain Flight Demonstration (EPFD) project. Through magniX the NASA program aims to demonstrate electric propulsion technology to power a hybrid De Havilland Canada Dash 7 aircraft, with first flight planned for 2025.

Air Tindi, a commercial operator from Yellowknife, Canadian Northwest Territories, will provide the aircraft. AeroTEC of Seattle, Washington, USA is a leader in integrating electric propulsion on airplanes, and will design, modify, and flight-test the demonstrator aircraft at its Flight Test Centre at Grant County International Airport in Moses Lake, Washington.

The retrofitted DHC-7 aircraft will be powered by two PT6 engines and two magniX magni650 electric propulsion units (EPUs). The distributed propulsion system is designed to reduce operating costs and noise while increasing power efficiency. The prototype has the potential to accelerate the introduction of hybrid electric flight technologies for commercial aviation.

“magniX has proven its leadership in clean, electric aviation with the ground-breaking flights of the eBeaver and eCaravan,” said Dominique Spragg, Chairman of magniX. “This collaboration with AeroTEC highlights the Pacific Northwest as leaders in sustainable aviation and our joint commitment to showcase the core technologies that will power the future of commercial aviation.”

Advancing Electric Flight

NASA is accelerating the learnings of the integrator and providing valuable data and insights to the industry from a certification, regulatory and planning aerospace perspective. NASA’s prior research and knowledge on electrification will be “operationalized” through this demonstration. The demonstration flight is part of a multi-year program, after NASA awarded magniX $74.3 million in 2021 to rapidly advance Electrified Aircraft Propulsion (EAP) technologies through ground and flight-testing demonstrations over five years. magniX will also collaborate with other NASA projects on EAP development, flight test instrumentation and data analysis.

“The EPFD project provides an exciting collaboration with industry partners to advance electrified aircraft propulsion in order to expedite the use of hybrid electric systems for commercial air-travel,” said Lee Noble, NASA’s Director of Integrated Aviation Systems Program. “Introducing these innovative electric propulsion technologies for existing and next-generation aircraft will help meet the aviation community’s future sustainability goals.”

A Mission to Serve Vulnerable Communities

“We are incredibly inspired by the partnership forged with magniX, NASA, and AeroTEC on the EPFD project,” said Chris Reynolds, President at Air Tindi. “We currently fly the Dash 7 with passengers and cargo to remote regions in Canada. Many of these communities are exposed to food insecurity due to high energy prices and a lack of infrastructure. We see this partnership as an opportunity to change this dynamic, and positively impact these regions by reducing CO2 emissions and dependence on fossil fuels.”

“AeroTEC’s mission is to accelerate the evolution of aerospace by partnering with innovative companies like magniX as an aircraft integrator to develop and ultimately certify new technologies,” said Lee Human, President & CEO of AeroTEC. “We are honoured to have been selected by magniX and NASA as the integrator on the EPFD project. This is not only a major win for AeroTEC, but a win for Washington State, which is rapidly becoming the nation’s leader in the advancement of sustainable aviation technologies.”

About magniX

Headquartered in Everett WA, magniX is dedicated to enabling an era of clean and affordable commercial air travel with all-electric propulsion. magniX offers a range of revolutionary solutions including all-electric motors – which produce zero emissions and increased efficiency for various aviation applications. For more information, please visit www.magnix.aero.

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More on Air Tindi from Cabin News

NWT’s Air Tindi will star in Nasa hybrid aircraft project

Published: May 4, 2022 at 8:54amOLLIE WILLIAMS

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Air Tindi has agreed to supply an aircraft for a Nasa program that aims to get a hybrid electric aircraft off the ground by 2025.

Nasa, Air Tindi and two electric propulsion specialists – AeroTec and MagniX – will partner to convert one of the airline’s De Havilland Dash-7 passenger aircraft into a hybrid.

Nasa has already invested hundreds of millions of dollars in its Electric Powertrain Flight Demonstration program, which ultimately seeks to bring electric power to US airlines’ fleets by 2035.

Air Tindi president Chris Reynolds told Cabin Radio the Dash-7 was the “perfect platform” for a hybrid aircraft, mostly because of its four engines.

“You can use two conventionally powered engines and two hybrid-powered engines, so it reduces a lot of the risk,” Reynolds said.

The Dash-7 also doesn’t require much runway for takeoff, Reynolds added, reducing concern if a hybrid test version of the aircraft is underpowered.

“We’re the largest Dash-7 operator in the world. They approached us and asked us if we’d be interested,” he said.

“They’d like us to be involved every step of the way, consult with them and give our advice on real-world operation of it because our people know the airframe so well. We’ll have a front-row seat for the next three years.”

In a news release last week, MagniX said an Air Tindi Dash-7 will be equipped with two Pratt & Whitney PT6 engines, which use regular aviation fuel, and two of the company’s Magni650 electric propulsion units.

Nasa’s Lee Noble, quoted in that news release, said the project would be an “exciting collaboration with industry partners to advance electrified aircraft propulsion in order to expedite the use of hybrid-electric systems for commercial air travel.”

Reynolds said the three-year project showed Nasa “providing the spark for the industry” but cautioned that he doesn’t expect hybrid technology to change northern aviation in the near future.

“In the North, it’s so far between airports. This is going to see more use for shorter legs between communities and then, as more people use it and if there’s a North American manufacturer, it’s going to take off,” he said.

“The technology is going to take a long time to be super-useful for the far places we go to, but it has to start somewhere and it’s neat to be a part of it.”

Eventually, Reynolds said, hybrid aircraft could help to improve northern residents’ cost of living and food security.

“It’s exciting,” he said. “It’s like drone technology, you can’t ignore it. One day it’ll be good enough to really reduce the cost of living in the North.

“It’s not there yet but we can’t be last to adapt because we’re far away, right? Let’s be involved and see what happens.”

NWT’s Air Tindi will star in Nasa hybrid aircraft project (cabinradio.ca)