Tue, Dec 03, 2024
Magni650 Electric Propulsion Unit Nears Electric Engine Certification
MagniX’s magni650 electric propulsion unit (EPU) recently completed its extensive NASA test campaign. This moves the device one step closer to achieving the “world’s first” electric engine certification.
The magni650 conducted testing at NASA’s Electric Aircraft Testbed, or NEAT, in Sandusky, Ohio. It was able to provide a maximum continuous 700 kilowatts of power at an altitude of 30,000 feet, making it a strong competitor in electric propulsion.
“The NEAT test campaign has moved us closer to the world’s first certification of an electric powertrain for aviation,” commented Ben Loxton, magniX’s Vice President of Technical Programs. “The work we are doing with NASA in the EPFD project will 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.”
The EPU will now be moving forward to NASA’s Electrified Powertrain Flight Demonstration (EPFD) project. This will involve replacing one of the four engines on magniX’s De Havilland Dash 7 test aircraft with a magni650 electric unit. The final stage of the NASA EPFD program will substitute a second turbine engine for the magni650, intended to reduce fuel consumption by nearly 40% in normal conditions.
Initial test flights are slated for 2026, with hopes to begin electrifying commercial airlines by the end of the decade.
MagniX is already working with Harbour Air on a project to convert De Havilland Beaver seaplanes to electric power. In April, Harbour Air signed a letter of intent to purchase 50 magni650 engines. This duo already gained a spot in electric aviation history with a Harbour Air Beaver retrofitted with a magniX electric engine in December 2019, which became the world’s first fully electric commercial aircraft to take flight.
“We look forward to being the leader and the first to make electric commercial flight a reality,” MagniX CEO Reed Macdonald expressed.
More News
From 2021: The Inside Skinny On What Being An ANN Oshkosh Stringer Is All About By ANN Senior Stringer Extraordinare, Gene Yarbrough The annual gathering at Oshkosh is a right of p>[...]
Video Showed That During The Takeoff, The Nose Baggage Door Was Open On May 10, 2025, about 0935 eastern daylight time, a Piper PA-32RT-300, N30689, was destroyed when it was invol>[...]
Get The Latest in Aviation News NOW on Instagram Are you on Instagram yet? It's been around for a few years, quietly picking up traction mostly thanks to everybody's new obsession >[...]
"I think what is key, we have offered a bonus to air traffic controllers who are eligible to retire. We are going to pay them a 20% bonus on their salary to stay longer. Don't reti>[...]
Aero Linx: Pilot Briefing The gathering, translation, interpretation, and summarization of weather and aeronautical information into a form usable by the pilot or flight supervisor>[...]
Oshkosh Memories: An Aero-News Stringer Perspective
See All