World's Largest Zero-Emission Aircraft, the Electric Cessna, Takes Off

The plane was magnified by a 750-horsepower (560 kW) magni500 propulsion system.
Loukia Papadopoulos

On May 28, a very special airplane took off, one that is bound to change the aviation industry forever. A collaboration between magniX and AeroTEC, the Electric Cessna was the world's largest zero-emission aircraft to take flight.

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The eCaravan was magnified by a 750-horsepower (560 kW) magni500 propulsion system. Its first flight took place at the AeroTEC Flight Test Center at the Grant County International Airport (KMWH) in Moses Lake, Washington.

“The iconic Caravan has been a workhorse of industry moving people and transporting goods on short routes for decades,” said in a statement Roei Ganzarski, CEO of magniX. “This first flight of the eCaravan is yet another step on the road to operating these middle-mile aircraft at a fraction of the cost, with zero emissions, from and to smaller airports. These electric commercial aircraft will enable the offering of flying services of people and packages in a way previously not possible.”

The flight will serve as another step toward the certification and approval process of the magni500 propulsion system. This will hopefully lead to future conversions of additional aircraft to magniX’s all-electric propulsion technology.

“I’m proud of the pioneering work performed by our engineers, technicians and flight test team,” said Lee Human, President and CEO of AeroTEC. “There’s no roadmap for testing and certifying electric aircraft – this is a new frontier and AeroTEC is on the front lines developing the processes and best practices that will pave the way for electric aviation.”