World’s Largest All-Electric Airplane Takes Historic First Flight

Yesterday, the world’s largest all-electric commercial aircraft successfully completed its first test flight

This feat is considered as a significant milestone in disrupting the transportation industry. It is also expected to accelerate the electric aviation revolution.

The all-electric Cessna Grand Caravan 208B was designed by electric aviation company magniX. It was done in partnership with AeroTEC, a leading independent company focused on aerospace testing, engineering and certification.

• See Also: Flying Cars: Some Things You Should Know About These Emerging Cars

The successful flight of the 9-passenger eCaravan, took place at the AeroTEC Flight Test Center. It is situated at the Grant County International Airport (KMWH), Washington.

The aircraft features a 750-horsepower (560 kW) magni500 propulsion system, this morning.

• See Also: 10 Major Car Companies In The World & The Men That Founded Them

Now, the flying of the eCaravan serves as another critical step in the certification process of the magni500 propulsion system. This will enable future conversions of additional aircraft to magniX’s all-electric propulsion technology.

“The iconic Caravan has been a workhorse of industry moving people and transporting goods on short routes for decades,” said magnix CEO Roei Ganzarski.

“This first flight of the eCaravan is yet another step on the road to operating these middle-mile aircraft. It will be operated at a fraction of the cost, with zero emissions, from and to smaller airports. These electric commercial aircraft will enable the offering of flying services of people and packages in a way previously not possible.”

“I’m proud of the pioneering work performed by our engineers, technicians and flight test team,” said Lee Human, President and CEO of AeroTEC. “There’s no roadmap for testing and certifying electric aircraft—this is a new frontier and AeroTEC is on the front lines developing the processes and best practices that will pave the way for electric aviation.”

The historic flight was captured via livestream and watched by social media users around the world.

• See Also: Rolls Royce Is Building The World’s Fastest Electric-Powered Aeroplane