2024 Corporate Aviation Leadership Summit

Ampaire has received a firm order for 25 Eco Caravans from sustainable regional aircraft financier Monte Aircraft Leasing, the companies said this week. The agreement includes an option for another 25 Eco Caravans and codifies the parties’ “preferred partner” relationship. 
A <a href="https://www.futureflight.aero/news-article/2022-07-26/ampaire-picks-red-engine-hybrid-electric-eco-caravan">hybrid-electric version</a> of the Cessna Grand Caravan, the Eco Caravan can reduce fuel needs and emissions by as much as 70 percent while preserving payload capability and extended range, according to Ampaire, which also claims the aircraft can achieve carbon-neutral operation when flown on sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). The aircraft can recharge its batteries in flight, meaning it can use any airport into which Caravans fly today, regardless of ground charging capability. Ampaire also cites a projected 25&nbsp;&nbsp;to 40 percent operating cost improvement over the standard Grand Caravan, depending on the mission. 
“The Eco Caravan is our starting point for a revolution in air travel,” said Ampaire CEO Kevin Noertker. “It brings cost&nbsp;per available seat mile down to the range of driving, benefiting operators and their passengers. It dramatically shrinks the aircraft’s carbon footprint. The propulsion technology is scalable, and we intend to quickly move toward larger regional aircraft and even the single-aisle jet market over time.” 
Now undergoing ground power tests, the nine-passenger Eco Caravan will fly later this year if all goes according&nbsp;to plan. <a href="https://www.futureflight.aero/news-article/2022-05-13/ampaire-says-caravan-conversion-represents-fast-track-viable-electric">Ampaire</a> expects the upgraded Caravan—the first hybrid-electric aircraft to enter the certification process with the FAA—to win supplemental type certification in 2024. 
The founders of Los Angeles-based <a href="https://www.futureflight.aero/news-article/2022-04-26/ampaire-seeks-new-funding-hybrid-electric-plans-surf-air-acquisition">Ampaire</a> formed the company in 2016 with a mission to take what they consider the quickest, most capital-efficient approach to making commercial electric air travel possible with available technology. &nbsp;The company claims a series of industry firsts since the 2019 maiden flight of its Electric EEL technology testbed aircraft, including the setting of a record for a hybrid electric aircraft with a 1,135-mile flight from Los Angeles to Oshkosh, Wisconsin.
Monte engages in the financing and lease of low- and zero-emission advanced aerial mobility vehicles to regional aircraft operators. The company has set a goal of becoming the world's first carbon-neutral aircraft leasing company by 2027.
“Monte is looking to build a fleet of low-emission and zero-emission aircraft to lease or finance for regional aircraft operators worldwide,” said Monte investment director Timothy Eyre. “Ampaire has emerged as the leading hybrid-electric technology provider. Its Eco Caravan will be very attractive for a segment of our operators, thanks to its wide performance envelope and ability to operate without ground charging infrastructure where necessary.”

Senior Editor

Gregory Polek

Ampaire Collects Firm Order for 25 Eco Caravans from Monte Aircraft Leasing

Ampaire and Air France Industries KLM Engineering &amp; Maintenance&nbsp;(AFI KLM E&amp;M) will work together to convert multiple aircraft to electric propulsion. Under a memorandum of understanding signed on October 19, the European airline's technical division will help the Californian start-up to implement supplemental type certificate (STC) upgrades for its planned hybrid-electric EcoCaravan conversion of the Cessna Grand Caravan utility aircraft, as well as working on longer-term plans for larger aircraft.
Earlier this year, Ampaire began work on a hybrid-electric conversion of the 19-passenger DHC-6 Twin Otter, which it markets under the brand name <a href="Ampaire early this year began work on a hybrid-electric conversion of the 19-passenger DHC-6 Twin Otter, which it markets under the brand name EcoOtter SX.">EcoOtter SX</a>.&nbsp;AFI KLM E&amp;M will help the company to train the engineers needed to conduct aircraft conversions around the world , as well as helping with operational data analysis and pooling of components.
By the end of 2022, <a href="https://www.futureflight.aero/news-article/2022-04-26/ampaire-seeks-new-funding-hybrid-electric-plans-surf-air-acquisition">Ampaire</a> aims to fly its first nine-seat EcoCaravan.&nbsp;Plans call for the EcoCaravan, which Ampaire says is the first hybrid-electric aircraft to enter the FAA certification process, to gain its STC in 2024.&nbsp; The company says it also has ambitions to develop all-electric aircraft.
"Ampaire and AFI KLM E&amp;M will work together to explore maintenance support for game-changing low-emissions aircraft on a worldwide basis,” said Kevin Noertker, founder and CEO of Los Angeles-based Ampaire. “AFI KLM E&amp;M's powerful global network and strong expertise will give operators everywhere high technical confidence in new propulsion systems. These systems will also provide optimized maintenance costs compared to conventional turbines."
According to <a href="https://www.futureflight.aero/news-article/2021-08-12/how-ampaire-building-its-hybrid-electric-aircraft-strategy">Ampaire</a>, it has&nbsp;achieved a series of industry firsts since the 2019 maiden flight of its Electric EEL technology demonstrator. Its EEL market demonstration aircraft has flown nonstop from Los Angeles to San Francisco and the length of the UK. This year, it flew a 1,135-mile leg en route from Los Angeles to the EAA Air Venture show in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.
Ampaire has used&nbsp;the <a href="https://www.futureflight.aero/news-article/2021-08-24/uk-flight-trials-accelerate-ampaires-plans-convert-airliners-hybrid">Electric EEL</a> to complete the development of its three-module electric propulsion system (EPS), which consists of an electric motor, a power inverter unit, and a set of batteries. The system drives&nbsp;a single propeller at the front of a converted six-seat Cessna 337 Skymaster, while a Continental IO-550&nbsp;piston engine, mounted on the rear of the aircraft, acts in the original pusher-configuration role.

Air France KLM To Support Ampaire’s Development of 19-seat Electric Aircraft

RED&nbsp;Aircraft is to supply its A03 engine for the powertrain Ampaire is developing to convert Cessna Grand Caravan aircraft to hybrid-electric propulsion. The compression ignition engine will be rated to 405 kW (550 hp) as part of Ampaire’s integral parallel configuration with the electric motors and battery packs, with the A03 providing base power and peak power coming from the electrical system.
Under the terms of a memorandum of understanding signed by the companies on the first day of this week’s EAA AirVenture show in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, the partners intend to jointly commercialize the hybrid-electric version of the utility aircraft under the brand name Eco Caravan. Ampaire is developing a family of propulsion systems for applications requiring power ratings of up to 800 hp. RED&nbsp;will develop, certify, and supply a range of engines that can run on both jet-A and sustainable aviation fuel.
According to Ampaire, the <a href="https://www.futureflight.aero/news-article/2022-05-13/ampaire-says-caravan-conversion-represents-fast-track-viable-electric">converted Grand Caravans</a>, which can be used for a variety of passenger- and freight-carrying services, will consume 70 percent less fuel on shorter trips and 50 percent less on longer flights with corresponding reductions in CO2 emissions. It also said that the A03 engine will deliver twice the thermodynamic efficiency of a comparable turboprop engine and that the Eco Caravan should cut operating costs by 25 to 40 percent.
Over the past couple of years, Ampaire has conducted extensive flight testing with its in-development powertrain using its Electric EEL technology demonstrator platform. The company flew the converted Cessna Skymaster to the Oshkosh show from its headquarters near Los Angeles. The trip included a 1,135-mile sector that it said was the longest-ever nonstop flight by a hybrid-electric aircraft, from Mojave in California to Hays in Kansas.
According to Susan Ying, Ampaire’s senior vice president of global partnerships, the EEL aircraft will have flown more than 15,000 miles by the time it returns from Oshkosh. It has conducted flight trials in Hawaii and also in the <a href="https://www.futureflight.aero/news-article/2021-08-24/uk-flight-trials-accelerate-ampaires-plans-convert-airliners-hybrid">UK</a>, where Ampaire partnered with regional airlines to evaluate the potential to serve remote communities.
The Eco Caravan is expected to be able to carry&nbsp;11 passengers or 2,500 pounds of cargo on flights of up to 1,100 nm. By comparison, the current production version of Textron’s Grand Caravan seats 10 to&nbsp;13 passengers and has a useful load of 3,692 pounds, with a slightly shorter range of 962 nm.
In April, <a href="https://www.futureflight.aero/news-article/2022-04-26/ampaire-seeks-new-funding-hybrid-electric-plans-surf-air-acquisition">Ampaire </a>started ground runs with the latest version of the powertrain, and it aims to start flight testing of the first converted Eco Caravan prototype in the second half of this year. Its objective is to secure an FAA supplemental type certificate for the conversion program by 2024.
“The modern, powerful, and ultra-fuel-efficient RED&nbsp;engines have exactly the right characteristics for the Eco Caravan’s hybrid-electric propulsion system and for many other upgrades or all-new designs we may pursue,” said Ampaire CEO Kevin Noertker. “We are very pleased to take this first step in collaboration with a company that shares our goal to decarbonize aviation while reducing costs for aircraft operators and their passengers.”
RED&nbsp;Aircraft is part of <a href="https://www.futureflight.aero/news-article/2021-08-23/red-aircraft-positions-its-high-performance-piston-engine-hybrid-electric">Raikhlin Engine Developments</a>, which is based at Adenau in Germany. The company produces engines for motorsport and aviation applications, including small commercial aircraft and UAVs.
“RED&nbsp;Aircraft sees enormous potential for hybrid-electric aircraft and believes the Eco Caravan is just the first step to bringing a new level of efficiency and vastly lower emissions to a large swath of aviation,” commented CEO Jürgen Schwarz. “We are thrilled to be pursuing these opportunities hand-in-hand with Ampaire.”

Ampaire

News

Ampaire Collects Firm Order for 25 Eco Caravans from Monte Aircraft Leasing

Air France KLM To Support Ampaire’s Development of 19-seat Electric Aircraft

Ampaire Picks RED Engine for Hybrid-Electric Eco Caravan

AIN Products

SUBSCRIPTIONS

RESOURCES

ABOUT AIN