Morning roundup: Big Bend in second seed, hybrid aircraft, Warden shuts out Granger
A Cessna Caravan converted by electric aircraft motor making MagniX and AeroTEC flying over the Grant County International Airport in May 2020. The two companies will be producing similar hybrid-electric aircraft under a deal with Los Angeles-based Surface Air Mobility and expect the first of the hybrid planes to fly in 2024.
CHARLES H. FEATHERSTONE/COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD
Our local sports teams are making an impressive showing, and our aviation industry is gearing up to fly the electric skies. Here’s what’s happening in the Basin today:
Big Bend baseball
The Runnin’ Vikes have racked up 19 wins this season and, for the first time in 20 years, earned the No. 2 seed in the Northwest Athletic Conference Super Regional. That’s an especially impressive feat for Head Coach Chase Tunstall, seeing as it’s his first year in the hot seat. Tunstall’s squad started out slow in the preseason, but in April and May they won 11 of 12 games. The deciding game was a 7-1 win over Yakima Valley on May 11. Mount Hood will play Grays Harbor at noon on Friday, and the winner of that contest will face Big Bend at 3 .m.
AeroTEC announcement
Moses Lake’s AeroTEC announced a deal yesterday with two other companies to produce a hybrid-electric plane suitable for smaller airlines across the country. The local company is teaming up with Surf Air Mobility, a pioneer in the electric aviation industry, and electric aircraft motor manufacturer produce and certify as many as 100 hybrid Cessna Caravans for use as commercial commuter aircraft. The work will be done in Moses Lake, and is expected to bring in some jobs locally. AeroTEC and MagniX partnered three years ago on a prototype all-electric plane, which flew the next year, and the two have been picked for a NASA project to equip another aircraft with partial electric propulsion.
Lady Cougars shut out Granger
The Warden Cougars fastpitch team gave Granger a 17-0 drubbing on Tuesday in the first round of the District 5 tournament. The Lady Cougs scored 14 runs in the first inning and it only took three more in the second before the run rule was invoked and the game was over. Warden, which is ranked No. 1 in the WIAA Rating Percentage Index in 2B fastpitch softball, takes on River View at 4 p.m. Friday. Head Coach Randy Wright said he thinks his crew can ride this wave all the way to the state championship.
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