Eviation adds magniX to Alice electric airplane project
Israeli electric-aircraft venture Eviation Aircraft announced that electric propulsion system developer magniX has joined the group bringing forward its nine-seat, zero-emission regional commuter airplane.
The magniX 375-horsepower magni250 system will be one of two propulsion options for Alice, the all-electric airplane designed to transport nine passengers up to 650 miles at 240 knots. The other motor supplier is Siemens; both companies’ motors would draw power from a 900 kilowatt-hour lithium-ion battery pack.
“We have been successfully testing the magniX system with our Alice aircraft propeller for quite some time now with great results,” said Eviation Aircraft CEO Omer Bar-Yohay. “We will begin manufacturing battery-powered fleets this year for our U.S. regional carrier customers, with a value proposition that reduces their operating costs by up to 70 percent.”
Bar-Yohay said Eviation Aircraft’s goal is to “undercut” the expense of commuting that he said cost Americans who traveled distances of 50 to 650 miles $1 trillion in 2017. “Together with magniX we’re providing an economically and environmentally sustainable mobility solution that will forever change the face of aviation, and consumer travel,” he said.
Applying electric-technology aircraft to what the Eviation Aircraft and magniX leaders refer to as “middle-mile” aviation is “a logical first step toward better connecting communities,” said magniX CEO Roei Ganzarski.
A model version of Alice was displayed in 2017 at the Paris Air Show. The first fully operational Alice is scheduled to appear at the 2019 Paris Air Show from June 17 to 23, as is the magniX motor.
The joint release issued April 22 was the second time in a month that magniX made news in the electric-aircraft space. On March 27, AOPA reported the Redmond, Washington-based company’s announcement that it had launched a project to bring electric propulsion to the de Havilland Beavers, single Otters, and Twin Otters of the 42-aircraft fleet of Harbour Air, a seaplane airline that provides service in the Seattle area and Vancouver, British Columbia.
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