In with the old, out with the new…

With the new design all-electric eVTOLs gaining most of the Advanced Air Mobility media coverage (and capital) to the end of 2022, the hybrid-electric propulsion market using retrofitted existing aircraft has been quietly and steadily building its own “power base”.

Formed in 2016 and based in Hawthorne, California, Ampaire’s focus on hybrid technology using older generation aircraft has resulted in steady, if perhaps unspectacular progress. Using a retrofitted Cessna 208B Grand Caravan and labeled the Eco-Caravan, it combines standard aviation fuel (and potentially SAF) with a hybrid-electric powertrain located in the cargo area and powered by a battery pack located along the fuselage belly area. The first Eco Caravan flight using this hybrid technology flew on 22 November 2022 and is currently scheduled for certification in 2024.

Promising zero emissions or lower emissions with up to 70% reductions, Ampaire has already received significant orders for the Eco Caravan, including an order for 25 aircraft from Monte Aircraft Leasing.

Ampaire is also developing all-electric aircraft technology, also using modified older generation Cessna aircraft. The Cessna 337 (Skymaster) has been labeled the Electric EEL and has already flown multiple times under Experimental aircraft regulations, again using hybrid technology initially.

Ampaire is working closely with NASA on the technology which may be unsurprising considering several of the company’s executives have backgrounds in NASA, including founder/CEO Kevin Noertker and co-founder Cory Combs.

With certification delays already being announced by some of the high-profile, all-electric eVTOL OEMs such as Joby, perhaps crawling before walking (hybrid-electric before all-electric) may ultimately prove to be the AAM winning strategy.

https://www.ampaire.com