Harbour Air has conducted the first point to point electric seaplane flight from Vancouver to Victoria in British Columbia, Canada.
In 2019, the Harbour Air ePlane team partnered with magniX to retrofit a De Havilland Beaver seaplane with a 750-horsepower all-electric motor. The seaplane has now completed its first all-electric flight, covering 45 miles in 24 minutes.
The ‘eBeaver’ aircraft left the Harbour Air terminal near YVR airport at 08:12am and landed in Pat Bay adjacent to YYJ at 08:36am. The seaplane had ample reserve power upon landing.
This is seen as a major milestone in deploying all-electric commercial flights.
Kory Paul, Harbour Air’s Vice President of Flight Operations and one of the company’s test Pilots said:I am excited to report that this historic flight on the ePlane went exactly as planned. Our team as well as the team at magniX and Transport Canada are always closely monitoring the aircraft’s performance and today’s flight further proved the safety and reliability of what we have built.
Building upon this success, Harbour Air and magniX aim to create the world’s first all-electric commercial airline to transition Harbour Air’s 40+ fleet of seaplanes from their current carbon-neutral status to carbon-zero operations.
Harbour Air is uniquely positioned to swiftly roll out commercial electric flights due to the small size of its single-engine aircrafts and the short length of its routes.
