It was undeniably a ‘Kitty Hawk moment,’ but the vast carbon footprint of commercial air travel will not be shrinking anytime soon, experts confirm. Though this morning’s test flight of an all-electric commercial float plane–a global first–justifiably lifted the spirits of all who support real-world climate solutions, it did not herald a green new era for commercial aircraft emissions, experts cautioned. Video of First flight of fully electric commercial aircraft World first flight of fully electric float plane. December 10, 2019. Video by James Glave This morning a small Canadian regional airline made history on a quiet stretch of the Fraser River in Richmond, B.C., just south of Vancouver, when its top executive took the controls of a classic Burrard Beaver floatplane retrofitted with a new electric motor, and lifted off to the cheers of an assembled crowd of media and well-wishers. Harbour Air founder and CEO Greg McDougall completed the five minute test flight without burning a drop of fossil fuel. In doing so, he moved a big step closer towards realizing his long-time vision of creating the world’s first all-electric airline. "That was just like flying a Beaver but a Beaver on electric steroids." McDougall told a […]
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