The maiden test flight of an aircraft for the aircraft manufacturer Anglo-US Group is now complete. A portion of the aircraft is powered by hydrogen fuel cells.
On Thursday, a modified 19-seat Dornier 228 propeller line was used by ZeroAvia for a 10-minute flight over Gloucestershire.
It was the biggest plane powered by a hydrogen-electric engine at launch.
The inspection flight in 2017 was hailed by Val Miftakhov, the man of ZeroAvia, as a “historic day for sustainable aviation.” He added that corporate application of technology might come about “in a few fast years.”
Without a question, the aerospace sector works really hard to create cutting-edge aircraft and jets. It wouldn’t be incorrect to argue that it is progressing from “sustainable aviation fuels” to hydrogen and electric batteries.
As we all know, one of the most difficult industries to decarbonize is aviation. 2.4% of global emissions were attributed to aviation before the epidemic prompted the grounding of numerous aircraft.
However, there are still differences among the industry regarding how rapidly hydrogen propeller flying is being accomplished.
Therefore, there is a growing consensus that it will contribute to the propulsion of short- to medium-range craft.
Since its inception, ZeroAvia has gotten about $150 million in capital from well-known financiers. Bill Gates, the owner of Microsoft, and Jeff Bezos, the owner of Amazon, are prominent figures. Additionally, it has partnerships with organizations like Shell, which provides it with hydrogen, United Airlines, and British Airways.
Through its business in California, ZeroAvia is a well-known aircraft company with two-thirds of its staff coming from the UK.
In the past, ZeroAvia conducted a number of check flights using smaller propeller aircraft. By 2025, the company hopes to have a 9–19 passenger turboprop designed exclusively for business flights. Additionally, it has planned for a 40-80 seat aircraft to enter service by 2027.
Additionally, the company added a full-sized prototype hydrogen-electric engine to the left wing of the Dornier aircraft for the inspection flight.
How Does It Function?
The hydrogen and gasoline cell energy storage tanks have been kept inside the aircraft’s cabin.
Miftakhov said that the company had already gotten 1,500 pre-orders for its engines. Along with 600-700 for the scale that was inspected during the trip on Thursday.
The business will also soon reveal its launch operators. It will take place to aid in the engines’ full-scale commercialization.
The UK government’s HY Flyer II project, run by the Aerospace Technology Institute, provided half of the funding for Thursday’s flight. The institute supports industry innovation with public finance.
“A really exciting vision of the future-guilt-free flying and a great step forward for zero-emission air travel,” was how one reviewer described the flight.
