Magnix working towards all-electric Cessna Caravan STC
Magnix, a specialist for aeroplane electrification, is working with Sidney Seaplanes and Dante Aeronautical to convert a Cessna to zero-emission drive. The partners want it to become the first all-electric aircraft certified by the Australian Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA).
For this, the partners and their electric Cessna plane need to make it through what would be the world’s first Electric Cessna Caravan Supplemental Type Certificate (STC) program. They expect to complete the STC in early 2023.
An STC is a major modification (or repair) to an existing type certified aircraft approved by national aviation authorities. In the case of the E-Cessna, Sydney Seaplanes, one of Australia’s largest seaplane operators, will then be able to offer the STC as a service to other Caravan operators in the region. They would, in turn, be able to convert and or use an electric Cessna just as they would use any other one. The principle is similar to Lightning Systems becoming a certified Ford conversion specialist. In the case at hand, this role remains with Dante Aeronautical, a developer and integrator of electric and hybrid new aviation concepts in Australia and Spain.
For magniX CEO Roei Ganzarski, “expanding with STC partners globally on more and more aircraft platforms means more sustainable air travel brought to market and the masses.”
The company has already converted a Cessna when working with AeroTEC in the USA. The maiden flight of the all-electric Cessna Grand Caravan 208B in the US state of Washington went without a hitch last May. The same is true for the more recent maiden flight of a six-seater DHC-2 de Havilland Beaver electrified by magnix in Canada.
MagniX has also entered into a partnership this September with the company Universal Hydrogen which is developing a fuel cell conversion kit for the propulsion system to install in a 40-seater aircraft. The De Havilland Canada DHC8-Q300 or Dash 8 is a regional plane used worldwide.
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