Harbour Air completes electric-battery seaplane test flight from Vancouver to Victoria
A successful test flight of an electric-battery seaplane operated by Harbour Air was completed between Vancouver International Airport (YVR) and Victoria International Airport (YYJ) on Wednesday, August 17.
The flight across the Strait of Georgia had a distance of 72 km and the travel time was 24 minutes. Upon landing at Pat Bay at YYJ, the aircraft still had ample reserve power in its battery banks.
This is a major milestone for the Harbour Air initiative, as it represents the first point-to-point test flight. In comparison, Harbour Air’s previous test flight in late 2019 merely circled over the company’s operating base from YVR’s south terminal.
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“I am excited to report that this historic flight on the ePlane went exactly as planned,” said Kory Paul, Harbour Air’s vice president of flight operations, and a test pilot for the initiative.
“Our team as well as the team at magniX and Transport Canada are always closely monitoring the aircraft’s performance and today’s flight further proved the safety and reliability of what we have built.”
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Three years ago, Harbour Air worked with Richmond-based aircraft manufacturer Magnix to retrofit a DHC-2 de Havilland Beaver seaplane owned by the airline with 100% electric capability.
Harbour Air intends to eventually convert its entire fleet into electric-battery aircraft. The regional airline sees over 500,000 passengers on 30,000 commercial flights annually, with 12 operating routes including from Vancouver to Seattle, Vancouver to Victoria, and Vancouver to Nanaimo. Within the Vancouver area, Harbour Air departs from both YVR and Coal Harbour in downtown Vancouver.
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