I've been following this since it was announced and it is great to see all the progress. Its gonna be amazing once it is certified and in regular use. And this will only push battery tech forward for longer flights.
@@NihonKaikan OK, ya got me! Should be: "are competent and know what their talking about, and provide details in a concise manner." Better yet: "are competent, detailed and concise" I knew what I meant and was in a hurry, so no proof reading it. Domo arigato, for catching this. Konbanwa.
@@carholic-sz3qv Well for one thing, if a EV car's battery fails in use, it just rolls to a stop. In a EV aircraft they don't have that luxury. The reliability requirement's for EV Aircraft certification are a lot higher and more stringent. In the case with Harbour Air they are building a EV Aircraft motor system into an old airframe. Basically abuilding a new motor and battery system to meet the specs of that aircraft. They don't have the luxury of off the shelf motors or battery systems. Each one is unique and the costs are much higher.
Erika Holtz is very knowledgeable and it was interesting to hear her explain the details of going electric. Watching the float planes in Coal Harbour in Vancouver take off and land is fascinating to observe. Thanks for sharing your knowledge. Well done.
@@BillericaBunnies You must be a Joe Rogan fan being such a contrarian without anything to add to a discussion you simply aren't equipped to take part in.
Well it's all about how much you want to carry, if the base plane is lighter then you get to carry more weight per flight, or in turn have more batteries for greater range. An all carbon Beaver could very possibly get to double load capacity.
The problem with electrifying an old plane especially a utility plane like the Beaver is that the plane is heavily built to withstand the vibration and weight of a radial piston engine plus the airframe is overbuilt with a very high service factor to make it more rugged. If an electric plane is designed from the ground up, it will be much lighter and more streamlined, needing much less power to fly and therefore have a longer flight time. Since the wings are not carrying fuel they can be thinner and lighter too.
The DHC-2 Beaver was produced from 1947 through 1967. C-FJOS is Beaver serial number 1030 as Shawn said and the Canadian aircraft registry confirms; it was built in 1956... 68 years ago and midway through the production run.
As many may know, The Philippians has about 2,000 inhabited islands The Philippines is an archipelago consisting of approximately 7,641 islands. These islands are grouped into three major regions: Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao Interestingly, only about 2,000 of these islands are inhabited... they run a lot of small commuter planes there everyday... imagine the savings in fuel pollution and noise...
Love Sandy talking to such an expert. Great technical details. They are discovering why we love electric cars! Better performance all around (as long as within range):)
nope they arent! a giant chevy suburban diesel has up to 800 miles of range on standard fuel tanks, litteraly doubling the range is super easy with a replacement bigger fuel tank
I think this is valuable from a research standpoint. They are sure depending on a lot of technology improvements by 2027. May make sense in some limited markets. For widespread use, still a lot of work to do to make this economical and practical.
Regarding the comment about Joby's props at 8:34... all practical propellers have tip velocities below the speed of sound. Tips need to be well below the speed of sound to avoid excessive transonic effects. And no, Sandy, an original Beaver prop was not made of cast iron, even if it had cast iron hub components (which is unlikely). As you know, it had wooden blades.
I’ve been following this for years. Hats off to Harbour Air to pursue this dream. I’m left with some questions… How many cycles per year? If operated 10 flights per day at 20 minutes each day with 30 minutes to charge…2000 charge cycles/10 flights per day = 200 days. Looks like the battery gets replaced approximately every 10-18 months depending on usage and remaining tested charge capacity. If so, this explains the need for updates to the supplemental type certificate(STC) as battery technology evolves. Further explains why there isn’t a huge cost saving over combustion fuels, but should be a big saving over sustainable aviation furls. Good thing they are quieter and shift their energy source to hydro. This will be fascinating to see how it pans out. Excellent program.
A Twin Otter with electric engines would be fantastic. I could definitely see a fleet of Electric twin otters doing work in the Caribbean. Perfect for island hopping
@@johnarnold893 I have looked at some, but they are usually from a distance and don't show how the plane feels and sounds inside ( or close to the plane ).
Soo cool! All the best with the certifications! I've seen those yellow planes live from an AirBnB we stayed in when we had our road trip through Canada. Such a beautiful place.
I remember studying mediation at the school beside Balwf's monstrosity. Sometimes, when the wind was just right, they would warm up and take off from right outside the school. The fumes were the stuff of nightmares. So toxic. I am so happy that they are going electric - the first company in the world to start the process. So, I am quite proud of them.
The future if they can find a breakthrough technology. There is not guarantee that things get better over time. Have coal powerplants gotten better? Gasoline engines? Nuclear reators? Sure, at little bit. But not 100% better ... more like 20%. The laws of physics still apply, even to EVs.
Great video. It won't be long before solid state will be pushing well north of 500wh/kg with smaller form factor, safer cells, lighter weight etc. Perfect for a business like this.
For this writer alone; this is sheer amazing. He flew these A/C in the Viet-Nam War and now sees them enter the electric aviation era! Such is progress!
This is very exciting. Perfect application for the short-hop flights in the PNW. I can't wait until we get a lighter battery chemistry that will allow us to slash the battery weight and get truly amazing range out of these things.
@@BillericaBunnies No magic required. We may be many years out, but I am certain we will continue to discover new battery chemistries that have > 1kwh/kg Materials don't have to be heavy to hold a lot of electrons. It's not wishful thinking, it's materials science.
Unless you increase the price of flights several times over and increase the size of your fleet multiple times these will never work. The extended model has 1/10 the range of a gas powered version and has to spend endless hours charging to achieve the same distance.
@@markadler8968 80mi range is enough for their longest scheduled route out of Seattle. If you require enough juice for a round trip, you can fly from Orcas to any of the island ports and back.
Power density of batteries is still light years away from what plain old gas has. This will be shackled to short routes. Won't fly in places like Alaska.
I've been following the development of this plane since it was announced. I wish I had the $$ to buy some stock. Eventually, this is going to be huge. Harbour Air is blazing the trail.
@@duncanjames914 no it's not the ideal airplane for an EV is one that's designed from the get-go to be an ev. Retrofitting something like this is always going to be a half-ass solution that's less than ideal for many reasons.
130 km range is basically nothing and that is on the extended model in ideal conditions. Not to mention this plane will spend far more time charging than in the air. This is nothing but a gimmick with a fancy paint job.
@@markadler8968 There are many short haul targets you could cover with short haul ePlanes. Think of coastal islands that often have regular or even irregular services. Installing a battery and solar panel on those islands could makes charging to extend the range easy. Not sure a seaplanes is the best option as it does not seem to be a very energy efficient plane
@@davidelvin1380 To be honest, the plane really is a glorified piece of garbage (for now), which is why it's going to be employed sparingly for some short scheduled hops, carrying half the passengers and load, over 10% of the distance of a normal beaver, manufactured 75 years ago. It will take many years before the new paradigm gains any real traction, and it may not get beyond short island-hop type of environments (which would probably already be seen as a staggering success for electric flight). When it comes to electric technology replacing dino fuel, the name of the game is energy density.
If every electric vehicle now in use died right now, the world economy would crash. They are EVERYWHERE, and a necessary com0onent to most industry. And in some environments, they're the ONLY safe choice. For air travel, just like ice powered air travel, we're still in the infancy of the sector. Nobody would fly a ww1 plane as a passenger vehicle these days, even if you would be allowed to. Or use a model t as a daily driver, or any kind of work vehicle.@@rhwing5095
Maybe with battery pack swaps it could be a great trainer? Or maybe it’s allowed to land on lakes that ban gas-powered vehicles? At least it’s nice and quiet…
I think it is pretty good that they were able to get the electric airplane to a cost competitive cost of use. The elelectric aircraft development field is starting to produce usable airplanes which is a huge step forward. I'm not sure if there will be many use cases for electric air transportation beyond short hops of two hours or less. Unless you start talking lighter than air, which will probably do well with electric propulsion.
Hardly, it is a complete joke. A gas powered version can fly 10 times the distance without refueling and doesn't have to spent literally days charging to go that distance.
@@andrewashmore8000 But you did not acknowledge the huge amount of time wasted charging. These planes will spend far more time charging than in the air which makes the beyond impractical and nothing more than a novelty
@@markadler8968 yeah , well that's where good design comes in , you know it's possible to swap batteries in seconds in need a super quick turn around. But in the video , the operators talk about charging in 30 mins , and that's about the same time as a turnaround time also.
@@andrewashmore8000 Sure they going to swap batteries on a floating airplane that weigh several hundred if not over a thousand pounds on a dock on the ocean.🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣You are hilarious.
Terrible decision from Harbour Air to discontinue the route between Vancouver-Salt Spring-Maple Bay. Destroying the communities that have supported Harbour Air for over 30 years is, to stay polite, disappointing. With a 14 day notice. I hope they will reverse that decision. That being said I am hoping to be trying this electric plane as soon as possible!
@@dmacpher Please consider writing to Harbour Air asking the route not be cancelled. There are entire communities who will suffer from that decision: Hotel, restaurant, marinas, families with relative in Salt Spring and Vancouver. Thank you.
FANTASTIC! To see the first "real life" EV aircraft be a DeHavilland eBEAVER mod! I've long thought that the Beaver is one of the very top aircraft candidates for a new, carbon-fiber generation _(I believe someone has made something similar in a 4-6 place, also STOL, even more capable, but expensive turbine powered ac)_ - but to see this super versatile, super reliable aircraft be one of the first to be fitted with a production EV battery powered electric motor is great. IF these do work out, go in to production, and prove reliable... then you can bet the AEROSPACE community will jump in, THEN there will be EVEN MORE DRIVERS for those developing the next gen of lightweight, high power, super reliable EV batteries.
Pipistrel has had multiple battery-electric models, including one which has been certified since 2020 and in use by flying schools. Harbour Air's goal is the first battery-electric aircraft in commercial passenger operation - they may make that.
Takeoff is at 100% of _rated_ power, but the magni500 Electric Propulsion System (engine) is substantially derated for this application, to match the original 450 horsepower (331 kW) P&W engine in the DHC-2 Beaver. The magni650 will be used at an even lower fraction of its capability. So electric cruise requires 41% of 331 kW which is 138 kW (185 HP), compared to the gas original of 52% of 331 kW which is 175 kW (234 HP). Earlier in the flight test program, they were assuming 150 kW at cruise.
This is the first time I have heard an explanation of the battery packing of the first proptype and of the planned final design from Harbour Air. The total volume of battery packs in the nose, belly, and rear cargo area will be less than that of the battery in the first prototype.
Not all engines have pistons!😂 I think you’re right about the difference though: motors convert energy directly to mechanical force, whereas engines convert fuel to energy to mechanical motion. But it’s hard to find an authoritative definition these days and they overlap in some cases.
@@toddfleury7324 meofnz2320 is correct. Think of Wankel engines. The engineering perspective is that engines convert exploding or expanding gasses to pressure (energy) to move a mechanical device. Either way, thanks Sandy and the Harbour Air team for this experiment in electric motor propulsion. We will never get to the end goal without taking these steps
FORD ENGINE COMPANY doesn’t even understand this!! 😡 makes me so angry I could shit myself. Terrible people and damned straight to hell, the lot of them! 100% agree with you, vagabond
This (at 2:06) is the first time I've heard a battery-electric aircraft builder clearly define the battery energy density assumed by their hoped-for performance specifications. Note that while MagniX has promised 300 Wh/kg (at the whole battery level, not module or cell level) they have not yet delivered this, so even Harbour Air's second conversion (now being built) will not achieve the stated payload and range.
MagniX is also working with NASA on their multi-engine eTransport; so hopefully they'll be able to certify a few different motors and battery packs to choose from for aviation.
@@vancity2349 But not be enough ... auto mileage is not much better now than it was in 1965, for the same eight vehicle. People are living a few years longer, but not double. There may be marginal gains, but the airplane is not viable unless things improve by 400% or so. Not clear how this is going to happen.
@@alexchamchourine2848That propeller can't run on a regular engine, the speeds are wrong. Add a gearbox and you're changing the weight and balance, negating the efficiency.
The haters really don’t get it, this whole thing is pretty damn exciting. Ice vehicles are horribly inefficient, the engineers and all involved are driving energy efficiency and capacity. The next 10 years are going to be fascinating
I wouldn't call them "haters" as maybe a few have been around aviation for a while.. that said, I would consider them as being merely cautious. My father was a bush pilot from the early 70's in the arctic and northern Canada.. Beavers and otters were a mainstay in every operation of your day. Now if you could ask one of those pilots if they would replace it with an electric one, you would lose the conversation hands down. They know these aircraft and what they're capable of like a slide rule and a bag of books.. contingency plans and operational safety are welded into their operation as a "safe" aircraft.. nothing spared! Replace their near 500Nm range power plant with an iffy at best bomb in the back seat that requires esoteric care and temperature management and flies for a small fraction of the IC engine's time.. where are the margins for contingency or just a bad day?.. a 10 minute reserve?.. 5 minutes? That may work for a trip out to the spit and back. Then there's the new CARS amendments for this technology that are still being written and not to mention STCs before it ever goes into regular commercial passenger service. I've seen that some of this has been "fast tracked" because it's a new technology and the BC government wants the feather in their cap for their green initiative. This being called a perfect fit by Harbor Air has it's questions.. I've flown to victoria many times on floats from the YVR float base, some days it's nice, but most it's not so nice.. and to be quite honest, having a full tank of fuel is a piece of mind.. even in a 60 year old cessna. What about an "emergency" situation? Li-ion technology really doesn't like water, especially salt water and prone to violently erupt if they meet. So landing on water is inherently a dangerous task in itself.. flip the bird or tear open a float and your ultimate failure point has been attained.. a Lithium battery fire that won't go out, a haze of heavy toxic smoke that bubbles to the surface for hours if not days. A tank of avgas or kerosene just doesn't have the same urgency or peril. Your EV starts puffing a bit of smoke and you can just pull over and let it cook off.. a flight battery maintains flight and without it, you cease to fly.. after that point there will be a battery fire in the water and your raft has burst into a chemical fire. Harbor Air is a landmark along the river on the south terminal of YVR, I've flown with them several times over the years and probably will not try their electric service until there's significant improvement in the technology.. call me paranoid or a 'hater', but some would call me cautious. The waters of the pacific northwest eventually took my father and others I've known over the years in various aviation accidents, every one of them 100% avoidable.
You mean "the haters" sorry realists the KNOW electrification CANNOT happen as there is not enough COPPER. The isn't. Stop pretending there is. We have long since exhausted the high grade and easy to get to copper ore bodies. The remaining ones are at 14,000 ft or remote and often pristine locations. Some are in countries in Africa being corrupted by China to secure. There is no substitute for copper. Future demand is near TRIPLE of projected supply. Just EVs will more than double the power GRID needed. That's all COPPER. Everywhere you see a transformer you will need another big can of copper. B.C. dark rainy and mountainous is totally unsuitable for efficient wind and solar. The pristine river valleys are pretty much all dammed. So where are you putting the Nuclear plants? Better get on that. Now add in home heating by electricity. Delusional. Won't happen.
@@billhanna2148 it makes me scratch my head why people would want to cling to gasoline when it is toxic, and requires a whole ecosystem of other toxic crap to help turn it into motion. How have we grown to hate m innovation so much that we would harm our lives to cling to an arbitrary thing
The range is still short, but technology is developing very quickly. So soon all these current Boeings will have to give way to electric planes. Let's wish good luck to these pioneers!
That is a very long way off - seeing as a gas powered Beaver has a five hour flight range (780 miles) and these electrics are at 30 minutes (roughly 50 miles), it might take some time to scale up to a Boeing 777-300 ER (8,900 miles - 16 hours plus reserve). They are cool and will have a use; but unlike cars, you just can't stop every 2 hours while crossing an ocean to top off your plane at a Tesla supercharger.
You are delusional if you think this will happen in your lifetime. These planes have maybe 20% of the range and tremendous amount of time has to be wasted charging them. This is nothing more than a model with a fancy paint job.
@@markadler8968 regarding "time wasted charging" batteres...spent battery pack modules could be swapped out on the ground for fresh ones in seconds, much faster than refueling. do you think hobbyists flying radio controlled airplanes fly once, then wait around at the field for 90 minutes while they recharge the battery? no. they bring multiple fresh batteries with them.
@@FB-gm6el You do realize you would be changing a battery that could weigh up to 1000 lbs on plane floating on the ocean? 🤣🤣🤣🤣You have quite the imagination, you should write science fiction.
Thank you for stopping by for a visit!
Thanks for having us!
I've been following this since it was announced and it is great to see all the progress. Its gonna be amazing once it is certified and in regular use. And this will only push battery tech forward for longer flights.
I live nearby and look forward to booking a flight as soon as it is flying!
As a Vancouverite, so cool to see this on Munro Live!
So impressive to see what the company is doing to navigate the technology & the regulatory process. This peek into their efforts made my day!
Nice to watch interviews with people who are competent, know what their talking about, can answer details and are concise. Good job Erika and Shawn!
English much?
@@NihonKaikan OK, ya got me! Should be: "are competent and know what their talking about, and provide details in a concise manner." Better yet: "are competent, detailed and concise" I knew what I meant and was in a hurry, so no proof reading it. Domo arigato, for catching this. Konbanwa.
Omg really !!?? She doesn’t have a F#%*ing clue !!!!
@@fullthrottle7985 Examples?
Respect to the lady for delivering her full spiel very efficiently while not being annoying. Exciting actually.
As a retired pilot it's nice the see someone that can speak with a good command and knowledge of the subject
'Nice Beaver!' 'Thanks! I had it stuffed with batteries last year!'
Wow, this next generation power package is going to be quite the build. VERY EXCITING.
A GREAT presentation!
Thanky'all!👍🏾
Amazing technology! Thanks for sharing Sandy! 🇨🇦
how exactly is it an amazing technology? its just like evs
@@carholic-sz3qv one difference, if it stop working it falls to the ground.
For extra safety, a "free wing" (control wing) design would have been better.
@@carholic-sz3qv Well for one thing, if a EV car's battery fails in use, it just rolls to a stop. In a EV aircraft they don't have that luxury. The reliability requirement's for EV Aircraft certification are a lot higher and more stringent. In the case with Harbour Air they are building a EV Aircraft motor system into an old airframe. Basically abuilding a new motor and battery system to meet the specs of that aircraft. They don't have the luxury of off the shelf motors or battery systems. Each one is unique and the costs are much higher.
Erika Holtz is very knowledgeable and it was interesting to hear her explain the details of going electric. Watching the float planes in Coal Harbour in Vancouver take off and land is fascinating to observe. Thanks for sharing your knowledge. Well done.
So cool to see options like this and the Regent Air Seaplane electrifying flight.
Everybody assumes electric aviation means fancy carbon fiber airframes. I love that these guys are making it work with tough as nails old bush planes.
@@BillericaBunnies You must be a Joe Rogan fan being such a contrarian without anything to add to a discussion you simply aren't equipped to take part in.
Thumbs down the Troll 👿
Well it's all about how much you want to carry, if the base plane is lighter then you get to carry more weight per flight, or in turn have more batteries for greater range.
An all carbon Beaver could very possibly get to double load capacity.
of course they dont do long distance flights, composite materials have made modern aircrafts significantly way more efficient
they might almost double their range if they uses more modern and lighter composites.
It will be so great to see where this goes in the future. Hope Sandy and fly in one
Nice to see sandy here in Canada!
The problem with electrifying an old plane especially a utility plane like the Beaver is that the plane is heavily built to withstand the vibration and weight of a radial piston engine plus the airframe is overbuilt with a very high service factor to make it more rugged. If an electric plane is designed from the ground up, it will be much lighter and more streamlined, needing much less power to fly and therefore have a longer flight time. Since the wings are not carrying fuel they can be thinner and lighter too.
Pilot could loose some weight too!
Nice to Vancouver as your back drop. I really enjoy your talk talks Sandy.
The DHC-2 Beaver was produced from 1947 through 1967. C-FJOS is Beaver serial number 1030 as Shawn said and the Canadian aircraft registry confirms; it was built in 1956... 68 years ago and midway through the production run.
As many may know, The Philippians has about 2,000 inhabited islands The Philippines is an archipelago consisting of approximately 7,641 islands. These islands are grouped into three major regions: Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao Interestingly, only about 2,000 of these islands are inhabited... they run a lot of small commuter planes there everyday... imagine the savings in fuel pollution and noise...
How is their power produced ???? Hydro or coal. Remote pollution
The Salish Sea, where Harbour Air is based is much the same. I’ll miss the sound the old radials made!
One of a kind. I have always known and flown a Beaver and can atest to its strength and manoverability. They will be around for a very LONG time yet.
So cool.. glad Munro come to Vancouver for a visit.
Thank you the world needs this development
YES !!! i am so Excited to see this,...
Love Sandy talking to such an expert. Great technical details. They are discovering why we love electric cars! Better performance all around (as long as within range):)
nope they arent! a giant chevy suburban diesel has up to 800 miles of range on standard fuel tanks, litteraly doubling the range is super easy with a replacement bigger fuel tank
I worked on R-985 and R-1340 one summer in the late 80's. But happy to see progress needed for the climate, and safety.
I think this is valuable from a research standpoint. They are sure depending on a lot of technology improvements by 2027. May make sense in some limited markets. For widespread use, still a lot of work to do to make this economical and practical.
No end in sight for beaver impressive men and woman and their flying machines what can be done .
Very excited about this new plane!
"It was so nice seeing your Beaver"
That joke gets old here because it's so common a phrase here... Just you wait till you here about our big Regina!
@@stickynorthThe city that rhymes with fun.
The Beaver being a bush plane is almost as funny as Viagra being made by Upjohn.
@@larrybremer4930 hahaha!!
Old school Beaver fan .....love what you are doing
Regarding the comment about Joby's props at 8:34... all practical propellers have tip velocities below the speed of sound. Tips need to be well below the speed of sound to avoid excessive transonic effects.
And no, Sandy, an original Beaver prop was not made of cast iron, even if it had cast iron hub components (which is unlikely). As you know, it had wooden blades.
I’ve been following this for years. Hats off to Harbour Air to pursue this dream.
I’m left with some questions…
How many cycles per year?
If operated 10 flights per day at 20 minutes each day with 30 minutes to charge…2000 charge cycles/10 flights per day = 200 days. Looks like the battery gets replaced approximately every 10-18 months depending on usage and remaining tested charge capacity. If so, this explains the need for updates to the supplemental type certificate(STC) as battery technology evolves. Further explains why there isn’t a huge cost saving over combustion fuels, but should be a big saving over sustainable aviation furls. Good thing they are quieter and shift their energy source to hydro.
This will be fascinating to see how it pans out. Excellent program.
Great Video, great interview! Well done! Harbour Air is one of my favourite local companies. Best....Corrie
A Twin Otter with electric engines would be fantastic. I could definitely see a fleet of Electric twin otters doing work in the Caribbean. Perfect for island hopping
Great stuff Sandy!! All the best to the amazing "TOMATOE PICKER"!! Greetings from the sandy shores of Lake Huron!!
Ontario, Canada!! GIDDYUP!!
🙋♂️THANKS SANDY,ERIKA ,SHAWN AND MUNRO ,FOR THE UPDATE 😎🔋🔋🔋
Wow so cool, game changer for short haul flights
Welcome to Vancouver, Canada Sandy. Nice to see you up here!
I really would like to see even a small demonstration and hear the motor running, but still fascinating , battery planes.
It is a bit far away and thus not optimal.
ua-cam.com/video/3gliycZGTl0/v-deo.html
@@sandmehlig Also they played music over the takeoff run to avoid tripping ContentID from background music.
All you have to do is look, there are numerous videos of it.
@@johnarnold893 I have looked at some, but they are usually from a distance and don't show how the plane feels and sounds inside ( or close to the plane ).
Sandy is checking out the beaver
0:56 Erica smiled when he said the 'B word'....
@@IndaloMan She doesn't get as much beaver attention as she craves.
Ooh nice beaver.
I doubt this braver is that great.
Don't tell his wife! 🫣
Soo cool! All the best with the certifications! I've seen those yellow planes live from an AirBnB we stayed in when we had our road trip through Canada. Such a beautiful place.
Flight from Vancouver to Bowen island are great!!!
Interesting. Great to hear how much more efficient things are coming down the battery tech pipeline.
I remember studying mediation at the school beside Balwf's monstrosity. Sometimes, when the wind was just right, they would warm up and take off from right outside the school. The fumes were the stuff of nightmares. So toxic. I am so happy that they are going electric - the first company in the world to start the process. So, I am quite proud of them.
2:50 TBO. Time between overhauls.
Sandy asking a lady about her beaver is peak internet
The future of aviation right there, if only for a few niche applications to start... The Vancouver to Victoria run for example...
The future if they can find a breakthrough technology. There is not guarantee that things get better over time. Have coal powerplants gotten better? Gasoline engines? Nuclear reators? Sure, at little bit. But not 100% better ... more like 20%. The laws of physics still apply, even to EVs.
@@comment8767 The sane take.
❤ wonderful thanks😊
This will become more practical as battery tech evolves.
Canada, leading the world in aviation.
All that money for an 82km range. crazy.
Great video. It won't be long before solid state will be pushing well north of 500wh/kg with smaller form factor, safer cells, lighter weight etc. Perfect for a business like this.
For this writer alone; this is sheer amazing. He flew these A/C in the Viet-Nam War and now sees them enter the electric aviation era! Such is progress!
Been following this project for a while now, fascinating to see what's going on just a few hours north of me.
Crazy coincidence. Took my first Harbour Air flight today. So cool to see how they’re investing in battery electric motors.
Neat. Was wondering when I'll be able to take an electric flight to Nanaimo.
This is very exciting. Perfect application for the short-hop flights in the PNW. I can't wait until we get a lighter battery chemistry that will allow us to slash the battery weight and get truly amazing range out of these things.
@@BillericaBunnies No magic required. We may be many years out, but I am certain we will continue to discover new battery chemistries that have > 1kwh/kg
Materials don't have to be heavy to hold a lot of electrons. It's not wishful thinking, it's materials science.
Unless you increase the price of flights several times over and increase the size of your fleet multiple times these will never work. The extended model has 1/10 the range of a gas powered version and has to spend endless hours charging to achieve the same distance.
@@markadler8968 80mi range is enough for their longest scheduled route out of Seattle. If you require enough juice for a round trip, you can fly from Orcas to any of the island ports and back.
Power density of batteries is still light years away from what plain old gas has. This will be shackled to short routes. Won't fly in places like Alaska.
I have used Harbour Air, and I hope I can ride on one in a few years.
Need a video of it running/flying
It needs a sound system inside that plays R985 sounds, the best sound of any engine and would give total confidence to the passengers.
I've been following the development of this plane since it was announced. I wish I had the $$ to buy some stock. Eventually, this is going to be huge. Harbour Air is blazing the trail.
Really wanted to hear it running next to an internal combustion engine one to compare the difference.
I love this! It's the ideal aircraft for electrification given its STOL capabilities and intended usage. This is the future.
@@duncanjames914 no it's not the ideal airplane for an EV is one that's designed from the get-go to be an ev. Retrofitting something like this is always going to be a half-ass solution that's less than ideal for many reasons.
130 km range is basically nothing and that is on the extended model in ideal conditions. Not to mention this plane will spend far more time charging than in the air. This is nothing but a gimmick with a fancy paint job.
@@markadler8968Exactly!
@@markadler8968 There are many short haul targets you could cover with short haul ePlanes. Think of coastal islands that often have regular or even irregular services. Installing a battery and solar panel on those islands could makes charging to extend the range easy.
Not sure a seaplanes is the best option as it does not seem to be a very energy efficient plane
It'll be even better when solid state batteries come into use.
Hello Sandy, nice to see you.
In reality it flys for 30 minutes with 15 minutes of backup power. What a piece of garage
Brain of a dinosaur 🦕
@@davidelvin1380 To be honest, the plane really is a glorified piece of garbage (for now), which is why it's going to be employed sparingly for some short scheduled hops, carrying half the passengers and load, over 10% of the distance of a normal beaver, manufactured 75 years ago. It will take many years before the new paradigm gains any real traction, and it may not get beyond short island-hop type of environments (which would probably already be seen as a staggering success for electric flight). When it comes to electric technology replacing dino fuel, the name of the game is energy density.
@@rhwing5095 Wow a intelligent person
Nice to know they still exist
If every electric vehicle now in use died right now, the world economy would crash. They are EVERYWHERE, and a necessary com0onent to most industry. And in some environments, they're the ONLY safe choice. For air travel, just like ice powered air travel, we're still in the infancy of the sector. Nobody would fly a ww1 plane as a passenger vehicle these days, even if you would be allowed to. Or use a model t as a daily driver, or any kind of work vehicle.@@rhwing5095
Maybe with battery pack swaps it could be a great trainer? Or maybe it’s allowed to land on lakes that ban gas-powered vehicles? At least it’s nice and quiet…
I wish Sandy could mass produce his airplane with updated tech and materials it would rock!
Wow 82 kms that is amazing AF better just stay near water
I think it is pretty good that they were able to get the electric airplane to a cost competitive cost of use.
The elelectric aircraft development field is starting to produce usable airplanes which is a huge step forward.
I'm not sure if there will be many use cases for electric air transportation beyond short hops of two hours or less. Unless you start talking lighter than air, which will probably do well with electric propulsion.
1 hour flying. On full electric that's cool.
Hardly, it is a complete joke. A gas powered version can fly 10 times the distance without refueling and doesn't have to spent literally days charging to go that distance.
@@markadler8968 frankly I thought it would be less than one hour. But 1 hour is useful for alot of small regional flights, so not too bad.
@@andrewashmore8000 But you did not acknowledge the huge amount of time wasted charging. These planes will spend far more time charging than in the air which makes the beyond impractical and nothing more than a novelty
@@markadler8968 yeah , well that's where good design comes in , you know it's possible to swap batteries in seconds in need a super quick turn around. But in the video , the operators talk about charging in 30 mins , and that's about the same time as a turnaround time also.
@@andrewashmore8000 Sure they going to swap batteries on a floating airplane that weigh several hundred if not over a thousand pounds on a dock on the ocean.🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣You are hilarious.
Terrible decision from Harbour Air to discontinue the route between Vancouver-Salt Spring-Maple Bay.
Destroying the communities that have supported Harbour Air for over 30 years is, to stay polite, disappointing.
With a 14 day notice. I hope they will reverse that decision.
That being said I am hoping to be trying this electric plane as soon as possible!
Oh that’s too bad, loved the maple bay route
@@dmacpher Please consider writing to Harbour Air asking the route not be cancelled. There are entire communities who will suffer from that decision: Hotel, restaurant, marinas, families with relative in Salt Spring and Vancouver.
Thank you.
Im impressed
I am watching all of this just for the opening outtake. 😆
Very cool
Great to see aircraft EV resto mods 😂😂❤❤
Canadian beavers are the best beavers!
Good luck
FANTASTIC! To see the first "real life" EV aircraft be a DeHavilland eBEAVER mod!
I've long thought that the Beaver is one of the very top aircraft candidates for a new, carbon-fiber generation
_(I believe someone has made something similar in a 4-6 place, also STOL, even more capable, but expensive turbine powered ac)_
- but to see this super versatile, super reliable aircraft be one of the first to be fitted with a production EV battery powered electric motor is great.
IF these do work out, go in to production, and prove reliable... then you can bet the AEROSPACE community will jump in,
THEN there will be EVEN MORE DRIVERS for those developing the next gen of lightweight, high power, super reliable EV batteries.
Pipistrel has had multiple battery-electric models, including one which has been certified since 2020 and in use by flying schools. Harbour Air's goal is the first battery-electric aircraft in commercial passenger operation - they may make that.
You can't beat a good beaver. It's nice to see a beaver upgrade available now. Soon you'll be able to have a fresh beaver.
yawn
I'm thinking about upgrading to blonde.
Great Stuff...electric flights at last,
TOO COOL 😎
Awesome video! Thank you very much. Oh dear, not another FAA story?😭😭😭
Takeoff is at 100% of _rated_ power, but the magni500 Electric Propulsion System (engine) is substantially derated for this application, to match the original 450 horsepower (331 kW) P&W engine in the DHC-2 Beaver. The magni650 will be used at an even lower fraction of its capability.
So electric cruise requires 41% of 331 kW which is 138 kW (185 HP), compared to the gas original of 52% of 331 kW which is 175 kW (234 HP). Earlier in the flight test program, they were assuming 150 kW at cruise.
This is the first time I have heard an explanation of the battery packing of the first proptype and of the planned final design from Harbour Air. The total volume of battery packs in the nose, belly, and rear cargo area will be less than that of the battery in the first prototype.
Cool!
Cut!!! Lunch time
Electric MOTOR! Engines have pistons
Not all engines have pistons!😂 I think you’re right about the difference though: motors convert energy directly to mechanical force, whereas engines convert fuel to energy to mechanical motion.
But it’s hard to find an authoritative definition these days and they overlap in some cases.
Tranpprt Canada and mos t likely the FAA insist on "Engine"@meofnz2320
Do motorcycles have pistons? Motorboats?
@@toddfleury7324 meofnz2320 is correct. Think of Wankel engines. The engineering perspective is that engines convert exploding or expanding gasses to pressure (energy) to move a mechanical device.
Either way, thanks Sandy and the Harbour Air team for this experiment in electric motor propulsion. We will never get to the end goal without taking these steps
FORD ENGINE COMPANY doesn’t even understand this!! 😡 makes me so angry I could shit myself. Terrible people and damned straight to hell, the lot of them! 100% agree with you, vagabond
great Solar Impulse connection!
The de Havilland Beaver, the aircraft that refuses to die.
Well, if their timeline holds I'll have to try and book a flight next time I visit family in Victoria.
So glad Sandy got to see this plane. I predict BIG THINGS in electrification of airplanes. Hopefully he'll do an update as this project progresses.
Motor. Motor. Motor.... MOTOR! :) She should know this.
She does. TC and FAA don't!
@@hughwaller6789yup!
She's not wrong.
She knows what terms are correct... but apparently you don't.
This (at 2:06) is the first time I've heard a battery-electric aircraft builder clearly define the battery energy density assumed by their hoped-for performance specifications. Note that while MagniX has promised 300 Wh/kg (at the whole battery level, not module or cell level) they have not yet delivered this, so even Harbour Air's second conversion (now being built) will not achieve the stated payload and range.
Cool plane, I'd put the batteries in the pontoons. Then they can be easily changed/jettisoned in an emergency.
That's why you're not an aeronautical engineer.
Lithium and sea water don't mix 😂
This is just a Toy / demonstration
Hopefully Twin Otter is next!!!
MagniX is also working with NASA on their multi-engine eTransport; so hopefully they'll be able to certify a few different motors and battery packs to choose from for aviation.
Amazing! Yes the range is short now but so were cars when they first came out. Range will quickly increase and only get better....
@@BillericaBunnies Just like car batteries the technology is better everyday, more range, quicker charging and competition will drive prices down...
It will not with current technologies. 80 km that’ funny. Wonder what that new high efficiency propeller could do to regular airplane.
@@alexchamchourine2848 Your opinion...but they will move ahead regardless of what you think
@@vancity2349 But not be enough ... auto mileage is not much better now than it was in 1965, for the same eight vehicle.
People are living a few years longer, but not double. There may be marginal gains, but the airplane is not viable unless things improve by 400% or so. Not clear how this is going to happen.
@@alexchamchourine2848That propeller can't run on a regular engine, the speeds are wrong. Add a gearbox and you're changing the weight and balance, negating the efficiency.
The haters really don’t get it, this whole thing is pretty damn exciting. Ice vehicles are horribly inefficient, the engineers and all involved are driving energy efficiency and capacity. The next 10 years are going to be fascinating
I wouldn't call them "haters" as maybe a few have been around aviation for a while.. that said, I would consider them as being merely cautious. My father was a bush pilot from the early 70's in the arctic and northern Canada.. Beavers and otters were a mainstay in every operation of your day. Now if you could ask one of those pilots if they would replace it with an electric one, you would lose the conversation hands down. They know these aircraft and what they're capable of like a slide rule and a bag of books.. contingency plans and operational safety are welded into their operation as a "safe" aircraft.. nothing spared!
Replace their near 500Nm range power plant with an iffy at best bomb in the back seat that requires esoteric care and temperature management and flies for a small fraction of the IC engine's time.. where are the margins for contingency or just a bad day?.. a 10 minute reserve?.. 5 minutes? That may work for a trip out to the spit and back. Then there's the new CARS amendments for this technology that are still being written and not to mention STCs before it ever goes into regular commercial passenger service. I've seen that some of this has been "fast tracked" because it's a new technology and the BC government wants the feather in their cap for their green initiative.
This being called a perfect fit by Harbor Air has it's questions.. I've flown to victoria many times on floats from the YVR float base, some days it's nice, but most it's not so nice.. and to be quite honest, having a full tank of fuel is a piece of mind.. even in a 60 year old cessna. What about an "emergency" situation? Li-ion technology really doesn't like water, especially salt water and prone to violently erupt if they meet. So landing on water is inherently a dangerous task in itself.. flip the bird or tear open a float and your ultimate failure point has been attained.. a Lithium battery fire that won't go out, a haze of heavy toxic smoke that bubbles to the surface for hours if not days. A tank of avgas or kerosene just doesn't have the same urgency or peril. Your EV starts puffing a bit of smoke and you can just pull over and let it cook off.. a flight battery maintains flight and without it, you cease to fly.. after that point there will be a battery fire in the water and your raft has burst into a chemical fire. Harbor Air is a landmark along the river on the south terminal of YVR, I've flown with them several times over the years and probably will not try their electric service until there's significant improvement in the technology.. call me paranoid or a 'hater', but some would call me cautious. The waters of the pacific northwest eventually took my father and others I've known over the years in various aviation accidents, every one of them 100% avoidable.
@@bozosplayhouse I am talking about the electrification haters. The ones whining about renewable energy and electric vehicles
You mean "the haters" sorry realists the KNOW electrification CANNOT happen as there is not enough COPPER.
The isn't.
Stop pretending there is.
We have long since exhausted the high grade and easy to get to copper ore bodies.
The remaining ones are at 14,000 ft or remote and often pristine locations.
Some are in countries in Africa being corrupted by China to secure.
There is no substitute for copper.
Future demand is near TRIPLE of projected supply.
Just EVs will more than double the power GRID needed. That's all COPPER. Everywhere you see a transformer you will need another big can of copper.
B.C. dark rainy and mountainous is totally unsuitable for efficient wind and solar.
The pristine river valleys are pretty much all dammed. So where are you putting the Nuclear plants? Better get on that.
Now add in home heating by electricity.
Delusional.
Won't happen.
Also aviation gas is STILL leaded gas and has been since the 50's and removing it should be a priority.
@@billhanna2148 it makes me scratch my head why people would want to cling to gasoline when it is toxic, and requires a whole ecosystem of other toxic crap to help turn it into motion. How have we grown to hate m innovation so much that we would harm our lives to cling to an arbitrary thing
Just enough range to get from Vancouver to Vancouver Island one time! lol Could have done a turboprop configuration.
We all love the Beaver. lol
The range is still short, but technology is developing very quickly. So soon all these current Boeings will have to give way to electric planes. Let's wish good luck to these pioneers!
That is a very long way off - seeing as a gas powered Beaver has a five hour flight range (780 miles) and these electrics are at 30 minutes (roughly 50 miles), it might take some time to scale up to a Boeing 777-300 ER (8,900 miles - 16 hours plus reserve).
They are cool and will have a use; but unlike cars, you just can't stop every 2 hours while crossing an ocean to top off your plane at a Tesla supercharger.
"so soon" no 😂
You are delusional if you think this will happen in your lifetime. These planes have maybe 20% of the range and tremendous amount of time has to be wasted charging them. This is nothing more than a model with a fancy paint job.
@@markadler8968 regarding "time wasted charging" batteres...spent battery pack modules could be swapped out on the ground for fresh ones in seconds, much faster than refueling. do you think hobbyists flying radio controlled airplanes fly once, then wait around at the field for 90 minutes while they recharge the battery? no. they bring multiple fresh batteries with them.
@@FB-gm6el You do realize you would be changing a battery that could weigh up to 1000 lbs on plane floating on the ocean? 🤣🤣🤣🤣You have quite the imagination, you should write science fiction.
Just the novelty is going to be great for business 🧐🌏☘️💐💕💕💕