Electric Flights – The Latest Zero-Emission Technology
With the assistance of Surf Air Mobility, Textron Aviation’s latest venture brings the commercial aviation industry one step closer to an electrified future. In today’s world, hybrid automobiles are the standard, but it has taken some time for the same green technology to permeate the commercial air travel sector.
The Partnership
Surf Air Mobility is an electric aviation company pursuing zero-emission air travel. With zero-emission air travel, Surf Air Mobility is helping to accelerate the adoption of electric regional aviation. Textron contributes to Surf Air Mobility’s development of electrified Cessna Grand Caravan aircraft by delivering 150 orders of the Cessna Grand Caravan EX single-engine turboprop aircraft.
The first fleet order is for 100 aircraft, with an option for an additional 50 later on. As a 9-seat version of the famous single-engine turboprop, the aircraft will be changed to Surf Air Mobility’s patented hybrid-electric Powertrain technology.
The Technology and its Benefits
Surf Air Mobility intends to make electrified aircraft widely available to new and existing operators. It will bring the benefits of lower-cost, lower-emission air transport to consumers sooner and at scale than the rest of the aviation manufacturing sector. Textron Aviation will leverage its experience and strong customer contacts to assist in speed adoption of the electrified Cessna Grand Caravan for all types of Cessna Grand Caravan missions under an agreement to take part in collaborative marketing and sales activities. It also plans to include passenger and cargo applications with this technology.
Surf Air Mobility will use the hybrid electric Cessna Grand Caravan aircraft on its network, while Textron Aviation will provide the critical platform for this innovative technology. Surf Air Mobility lays the way for a regional mass transit network to sustainably link communities. By this, Surf Air will aim to connect additional airports with short-haul direct service across the US.
Thoughts of Textron
This hybrid-electric Powertrain technology will eventually be used to replace traditional fuel combustion engines. According to Ron Draper, President and CEO of Textron Aviation, hybrid-electric propulsion technology is an essential element of the future of travel as the future technologies are applied at scale for environmental and commercial reasons. He also stated that the collaboration with Surf Air Mobility capitalizes on the Cessna Grand Caravan’s unique performance characteristics in both passenger and cargo operations and continues to highlight the aircraft’s versatility for novel missions and configurations.
Rob Scholl, Senior Vice President of Textron’s e-Aviation division, sees this as a chance to demonstrate Textron Aviation and Surf Air Mobility’s combined experience and technology. He also added that the Grand Caravan’s exceptional capabilities and adaptability make it a perfect aircraft for taking advantage of this new technology.
Thoughts of Surf Air Mobility
According to Sudhin Shahani, co-founder, chairperson, and CEO of Surf Air Mobility, they know from experience that consumers want quicker, cheaper, and cleaner regional travel and they are developing the ecosystem to expedite the industry’s adoption of hybrid electric flying. He also believes that drastically lowering emissions from this type of aircraft will be the most significant step toward decarbonization in this decade. His assessment of the Grand Caravan EX was that it was one of the most flexible and productive aircraft in use today.
When to Expect
Surf Air Mobility’s ability to get funding will be a determining factor in this remarkable partnership. Cessna Grand Caravan EX deliveries will commence in the second quarter of 2022 when the transactions are completed.
In 2024, Surf Air Mobility hopes to have this hybrid electric system installed on its Cessna Grand Caravan aircraft, which will allow it to extend its regional flying network.