On Friday one lucky pilot will be taking off from Campbell River in Canada’s first-ever commercial electric flight.
Sealand Aviation has an all-electric plane for flight training, and this week held a contest to see who gets to try it out first. The winner was chosen today out of dozens of entries, says Mike Andrews, pilot and spokesperson with Sealand.
Andrews says it won’t be long before electric planes become common, with Harbour Air and Helijet upgrading their fleets, so Sealand wants to make sure it has pilots trained and ready to go.
“There is going to be a change in the technology and equipment that’s being used in our industry, so we are providing the opportunity to start training on that now,” he said.
The electric trainer is a Pipistrel Velis Electro. It has a max range of 50 minutes, according to the manufacturer. It’s fully approved for pilot training in more than 30 countries.
Andrews says there are several challenges still to overcome before electric airplanes will be more widely adopted. One is the host of regulations that need to change to be more electric-friendly; for example, planes are specifically required to have fuel and oil temperature gauges, and fuel reserves. Regulations need to be inspected and modified to account for planes that run on electricity.
“We are kind of the ‘guinea pig,’ if you will, to discovering these, ” he says.
One big advantage to electric planes will be the reduction in aviation emissions, he adds.
Politicians, dignitaries, and aviation industry pros have been invited to the Friday flight, which is the first of its kind in Canada.
