ZeroAvia has recorded its first flight to be powered by a hydrogen-electric engine.
The maiden flight of its 19-seat Dornier 228 testbed aircraft, retrofitted with a full-size prototype hydrogen-electric powertrain, took place from the company’s R&D facility today at Cotswold Airport in Gloucestershire, UK, and despite only lasting six minutes, it marked a milestone in zero-emissions aviation. Between 10 and 20 flights are expected as part of the test campaign, ahead of planned certification towards the end of the year.
The landmark flight forms part of the HyFlyer II project, a major R&D programme backed by the UK Government’s flagship ATI Programme, which targets development of a 600kW powertrain to support 9-19 seat aircraft worldwide with zero-emission flight.
The twin-engine aircraft was retrofitted to incorporate ZeroAvia’s hydrogen-electric engine on its left wing, which then operated alongside a single Honeywell TPE-331 stock engine on the right.
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