MagniX has continued to advance the future of electric propulsion systems for aircraft, successfully testing a 350-hp all-electric motor. Its motor was tested with a propeller mounted on a Cessna iron bird as a demonstration of the company’s ability to use the all-electric motor on a commercial aircraft platform. The company expects to install a 750-hp propulsion system on a Cessna 208 Caravan by next fall.

MagniX has dedicated an effort to use electric aviation to connect communities currently underserved in the middle-mile market—defined as 100- to 1,000-mile range. It said these areas will benefit from electric aviation’s ability to provide consumer travel and package delivery.

“We’ve seen a movement away from rural flights, small airport flights, and flights that maybe can’t fill a 75-passenger aircraft every hour. Then these places are stuck with nothing and you have to drive an hour or two to get to a major airport to get on a flight to your destination,” explained MagniX CEO Roei Ganzarski. “We believe that electric aviation will best serve that market in the coming years. Current technology, including both aircraft propulsion and batteries, and technology coming up in the next 18 to 24 months are perfectly suited to serve those ranges.”

According to MagniX, electric aviation will reduce operating costs while eliminating carbon emissions. The company estimates electric aircraft will fly up to 1,000 miles by 2024 and up to 500 miles by 2022. “From design to prototype, dyno test cell success to now turning an aircraft propeller, we are one step closer to powering the future of electric aviation,” said David Sercombe, chief design engineer for MagniX.

Connecting communities remains at the forefront of the MagniX mission. Ganzarski explained, “The middle mile is really built for electric aviation and that is what we are focused on because it will allow communities to be connected like never before. Employment in these communities is currently not as high as it could be, effectiveness and efficiency in these towns aren’t taken advantage of, there’s less commerce and the towns are limited by growth.”

This continued focus “will push us as an industry to transform aviation into its ultimate form: zero reliance on fossil fuel and zero emissions. With this milestone we bring the industry one step closer to fulfilling that vision,” he concluded.