NASA, magniX Electrify Vintage Airliner

Electric aircraft propulsion company magniX has acquired the use of a rare four-engine turboprop airliner as part of the next phase of NASA's Electrified Powertrain Flight Demonstration program. Eventually the De Havilland Dash-7 will have two of its four engines replaced with magniX electric motors and that will cut fuel consumption and emissions by 40%.  “Integrating our game-changing electric powertrains into a regional airliner such as the Dash 7 represents a major step forward in bringing electric solutions into the business of aviation," said magniX CEO Reed Macdonald.

The idea is to test a hybrid electric system on the Dash-7 to inform future work on the development of new hybrid aircraft. There are only 11 Dash-7s, a 1960s STOL airliner design, flying in the world, and magniX and NASA are borrowing this one from Air Tindi, a small airline based in northern Canada. “We are a research organization that continues to advance aviation, solve the problems of flight, and lead the community into the future,” said Robert A. Pearce, associate administrator for NASA’s Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate. “Through our EPFD project, we’re taking big steps in partnership to make sure electric aviation is part of the future of commercial flight.”