by Bob Walsh
The deHavilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver is a commonly used bush plane in the wilds of Canada. At the end of last year Harbour Air, a commercial operator of these planes in a float plane configuration installed a 750 HP electric engine in place of the Pratt & Whitney radial and flew the damn thing. They are so happy with it they are in the process of converting their entire fleet of 14 Beavers to electric power. The cost per mile and maintenance costs are about half of the gas powered version. The reduction in drag on the aircraft from the radial engine nose is significant. The electric engine weighs 300 pounds less than the gas engine and goes an incredible (for air engines) 10,000 hours between major maintenance intervals. The engine is specifically set up to spin at 1900 rpm, which is pretty much ideal for a propeller. The torque is incredible. The test flights have used well under full throttle for takeoff. Right now the power pack is slightly over 2,000 pounds but the production version should be about 1500 pounds.
The range is likely to be severely limited right now, but since Harbour Air's normal flight time is less than 1/2 hour per hop it is in the realm of reasonable.
Right now they anticipate actual paying client service starting up in about two years.
1 comment:
Amazing. Electric airplanes. I remember when LED lights were only found on calculators and watches. I have been fortunate to see a myriad of new inventions and improvements on old technology. I predict our dependence on oil will be reduced significantly in the near future.
Since sheltering in place for almost 2 months, a lot of rivers in Texas are running clear and wildlife is already reclaiming areas. Giving the Earth a rest is a good thing.
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