Plans for world’s first all-electric seaplane fleet

An airline and an electric aviation company have teamed up to convert a seaplane fleet to electricity

Spotted: Electric aviation company magniX and Harbour Air, North America’s largest seaplane airline, have teamed up to develop an all-electric seaplane fleet.

Harbour Air currently flies 12 scheduled routes, but most of those routes are quick hops of under 100 miles between Seattle or Vancouver and nearby islands and cities. That makes the airline a great candidate for conversion to run on the first generation of electric aviation motors. The new planes will be powered by the magni500, a 750 horsepower (HP) all-electric motor.

The first aircraft to be converted will be the DHC-2 de Havilland Beaver, a six-passenger seaplane. The engine will give the Beaver a maximum flight time of 1 hour, long enough for many of Harbour’s routes. Harbour Air hopes to eventually convert all 42 of its seaplanes to run on electricity. The first test flights are planned to take place in late 2019.