Los Angeles-based Ampaire has announced the successful completion of an 1,880-statute-mile mission from Los Angeles to Oshkosh in Wisconsin. The journey included a record-breaking 1,135 non-stop flight for an electric-hybrid aircraft between Mojave in California and Hays in Kansas on July 21.
Compared to a standard Cessna Skymaster, the EEL produced fuel savings of approximately 40%. The EEL is a parallel hybrid, having one conventional combustion engine and an independent electric drivetrain. Optimised hybrid electric aircraft aim to offer substantially higher fuel savings and consequently reduced emissions’ reductions.
“By the time the EEL returns to California it will have flown more miles than any hybrid-electric aircraft, over 15,000, including airline demonstration flights in Hawaii and the UK. It is flying with great reliability and demonstrating the workhorse nature of hybrid-electric aircraft,” noted Dr. Susan Ying, Ampaire’s SVP of Global Partnerships. “We are taking the technology and expertise developed with the electrical EEL and applying it to our first commercial product, the hybrid-electric nine-seat Eco Caravan regional aircraft, which will make its first flight later this year. That aircraft will demonstrate fuel savings up to 70% and emissions’ reductions up to 100% when using sustainable aviation fuel.”
Ampaire was formed in 2016 with a mission to become a leading developer of practical, compelling electric aircraft. The company is upgrading existing passenger aircraft to hybrid-electric power – the most rapid and efficient approach to making commercial electric air travel a reality with available technology.
