British/American aircraft developer ZeroAvia has announced the successful completion of its first flight test campaign. The series of ten flights which involved a Dornier 228 fitted with the prototype ZA600 engine took place at Cotswold Airport in the UK. The next stage of flight tests will involve cross-country journeys.
Currently the aircraft has successfully flown at 5,000 feet, performed a 23-minute endurance test, successfully operated at a temperature range between just above freezing to 30 degrees Celsius, and also reached the maximum allowable speed under the Permit to Fly issued by the CAA. Most important, throughout all test phases, the fuel cell power generation and electric propulsion system that are the core components of the novel zero-emission engine, performed at or above expectations. The hydrogen-electric engine successfully matched the power of the conventional, fossil fuel engine on the opposite wing, with the pilots able to fly with thrust generated only from the experimental clean propulsion system in certain tests.
Gabriele Teofili, Head of Aircraft Integration & Testing, ZeroAvia, said: “Plenty of people go through 40-year careers without marking their name in the history books of aerospace engineering. I'm so proud that so many of the team at ZeroAvia can say that they have done that already with this first phase of test flights. This Dornier 228 will now always have a place in our hearts, but we're excited to take it on its next adventure and head further afield.”
Val Miftakhov, Founder & CEO, ZeroAvia, said: “Zero-emission flight technologies are moving from promise to delivery and our amazing team is leading the way with this testing programme. We do not have to push the unappealing choices on passengers of paying more or flying less to deliver climate conscious air travel. We instead can adopt this technology quickly to reduce climate impact and air pollution.”
