Charles Alcock is managing editor of the AIN Media Group, having rejoined the company in 2019. He has been an aviation journalist since 1986, and previously worked for AIN from 1990 to 2017, most recently as editor-in-chief. His main focus is on covering new aviation technology and business models, as well as international news.
Having been raised in the London area, Alcock studied at the University of Manchester in the UK and earned an honors degree in Politics and Modern History. He speaks English and French, and some German.

Managing Editor

Charles Alcock

MagniX has completed a joint test campaign with NASA for its Magni650 electric propulsion unit (EPU). The tests using NASA’s ground-based Electric Aircraft Testbed (NEAT) in Sandusky, Ohio, simulated flight conditions at 30,000 feet with a maximum continuous output of 700 kilowatts.
The campaign is part of efforts to prepare the EPU for the flight test phase of NASA’s Electrified Powertrain Flight Demonstration project. This testing will involve installing a Magni650 powertrain in place of one of four turboprop engines on a De Havilland Dash 7 aircraft for flights that are due to begin in 2026.
Later phases of testing will see a second EPU installed on the retired 40-seater regional airliner as MagniX and NASA explore options to electrify large commercial aircraft for service entry at the end of the decade. According to MagniX, operating with two EPUs, the Dash 7 will reduce its normal fuel consumption by around 40% on a typical flight.
Washington-based MagniX has previously provided electric propulsion for five different aircraft, including a <a href="https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/air-transport/2019-12-10/harbour-airs-electric-beaver-achieves-first-flight">DHC-2 Beaver with Harbour Air</a> and an early technology demonstrator for <a href="https://www.ainonline.com/news-article/2022-09-27/eviations-alice-electric-aircraft-starts-flight-test-campaign">Eviation’s Alice</a> model, and a <a href="https://www.ainonline.com/news-article/2020-08-07/magnix-advances-three-electric-aircraft-programs-sights-set-2022-service">Cessna Grand Caravan</a>. In July 2024, the company introduced its new <a href="https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/futureflight/2024-06-25/magnix-enters-energy-storage-race-samson-batteries">Samson series of batteries</a> that will provide power ratings of between 350 and 650 kilowatts, and have an energy density of 300 watt-hours per kilogram (Wh/kg) and have a service life of more than 1,000 full-depth discharge cycles.
<figure role="group" class="caption caption-img">
<img alt="MagniX's Magni650 electric propulsion unit" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="04602a70-ce7b-46db-afd2-99acf03b5043" src="/sites/default/files/inline-images/magniPower_image.jpg" width="3313" height="2560" loading="lazy">
<figcaption>MagniX's Magni650 electric propulsion unit consists of an electric motor, batteries and a power management system.</figcaption>
</figure>

“The NEAT test campaign has moved us closer to the world’s first certification of an electric powertrain for aviation,” said Ben Loxton, MagniX’s v-p of technical programs. “The work we are doing with NASA in the EPFD project with enable the electrification of regional commercial aviation in pure electric on short routes, and hybridization on longer routes—significant steps toward the decarbonization of aerospace.”
France’s Safran is working to achieve EASA type certification of the EngineUs 100 electric motor. With a power rating of up to 180 kilowatts, this is the first member of an electric propulsion system family. In March, the FAA opened a public consultation on <a href="https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/futureflight/2024-03-21/faa-consults-special-conditions-safran-electric-engine">special conditions</a> it proposes to use to certify the motors, which have been selected for programs including Electra’s EL9 hybrid-electric STOL aircraft.

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News and issues relating to the aerospace industry that are related to the science, engineering and business of flight in space involving civil, industrial and military applications, and similar topics related to flight in the atmosphere of the Earth that are not covered more directly by other AINonline subject channels. In other words, both astronautical and aeronautical subjects, except for those aeronautical topics that are specifically covered elsewhere on this website.

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