Vancouver-based, Harbour Air, is North America’s largest seaplane airline and the first to be fully carbon-neutral. In December 2019, the company made the headlines with news that it had modified one of its De Havilland Beavers to be fully electric and had started flight testing the aircraft. In April 2021, the headlines revealed that Harbour Air was working with propulsion and battery specialists magniX and H55 to certify this aircraft with Transport Canada. All seemed set for the company to transform its 40 strong fleet to be all-electric. However, headlines can downplay just how complicated and challenging such initiatives can be. So this ANC Talk is intended to allow us to hear from those directly involved and get a better understanding of these challenges, what they have meant for this project and what they can tell us about the future path for electric propulsion.

Presenters:
· John Deruchie is Regional Engineering Chief in Transport Canada’s National Aircraft Certification for Civil Aviation
· Erika Holtz is Engineering & Quality Manager of the Harbour Air Group