Local firm to develop hybrid aircraft

MOSES LAKE — AeroTEC and electric aircraft motor maker MagniX announced on Wednesday a major deal with Los Angeles-based electric aircraft pioneer Surf Air Mobility to produce and certify a hybrid-electric Cessna Caravan aircraft usable by smaller airlines across the country.

Under the arrangement, AeroTEC — which specializes in aircraft modification, testing and certification — will develop, engineer, test and certify the aircraft using MagniX electric motors and Surf Air Mobility’s proprietary technology to eventually convert as many as 100 Cessna Caravans to hybrid-electric power.

“This is a very exciting program,” said AeroTEC founder and President Lee Human. “We’re going to produce a fully certified aircraft for use as a regional (commercial) aircraft.”

AeroTEC partnered with MagniX in 2019 to create a prototype all-electric Cessna Caravan, which first took to the skies in May 2020. Last month, AeroTEC and MagniX announced they had been selected to join a NASA project to modify a De Havilland Dash 7 aircraft with partial electric propulsion.

Human said he believes this project, which is AeroTEC’s fifth involving all-electric or hybrid-electric aircraft propulsion, will place AeroTEC as a world leader in electric aircraft systems and conversion.

“This is the next step AeroTEC has been looking for,” he said.

The program will involve replacing both of the Caravan’s combustion engines with electric motors. Human said the aircraft will also have a small generator onboard to recharge the batteries, increasing the range and allowing the plane to recharge without needing a dedicated recharging station, much like the hybrid-electric Toyota Prius which introduced many people to electric cars.

“It will allow for early adoption at airports,” he said.

Human also said an electric Caravan, which could carry up to 14 passengers, will be cheaper to operate and open up opportunities for regular commercial air service to lightly served cities like Moses Lake. Surface Air Mobility is also working on software that will change how people book flights, making it more like calling for an Uber ride, he said.

“They’re going to change how we get from A to B,” he said.

Human said design work on the modified Caravan is set to be completed by mid-2023, with modification work beginning soon thereafter and the plane expected to fly sometime in the first half of 2024.

“All of that will be done in Moses Lake, which is great,” he said. “We are hiring.”

In addition, as part of its announcement Wednesday, Surface Air Mobility also announced it was purchasing Palm Beach, Fla.-based Southern Airways, and Tuscan Holding Corp. II, a publicly traded special purpose acquisition company, will acquire the combined company with an eye toward taking Surface Air Mobility public.

Shares in NASDAQ-traded Tuscan closed up nearly 1% to close at $10.42 per share in Wednesday trading.

Charles H. Featherstone can be reached at cfeatherstone@columbiabasinherald.com.