Virtual Event: The First Two Key Drivers for Electric Aircraft

This fireside chat recap is from FLYING’s “What’s Next in General Aviation” Virtual Event on Wednesday.

FIRESIDE CHAT TOPIC: MagniX has made significant developments toward the future that lies in making an alternatively powered aircraft viable for key market segments.

DETAILS: FLYING’s CEO Craig Fuller shares some time with MagniX’s Roei Ganzarski.

SPEAKER: Ganzarski is MagniX’s CEO.

BIO: MagniX started in 2009 in Australia, working on electric motors—actually nothing to do with aerospace. In 2017—and now based in Redmond, Washington—the company built its first aerospace prototype, a very light, low speed powerplant. Prior to MagniX, Ganzarski was CEO of BoldIQ for six years.

KEY QUOTES FROM GANZARSKI:

“In 2018, we pivoted the company from general R&D to [a] specific commercial focus on electrifying commercial aviation and the rest of the last three and a half years, as they say, is history. We’ve been flying eBeavers, eCaravans, etcetera, for over a year and a half now, and have just recently started working on a forty-passenger, all-electric aircraft as well.”

“When you look at electric aviation, there are two points to really focus on. One: Can it be done, physically? And two: Can it be certified? … So the first, the physical environment, the biggest challenge today that people like to talk about, especially the naysayers … is that batteries or fuel cells don’t have enough energy or power to actually fly an airplane equivalent to fuel. And to that I say, they’re absolutely right. We are not competing with fuel; batteries or fuel cells will never compete with fuel. But the question isn’t, is an electric airplane as good as a [fueled airplane], the question is, ‘Is an electric airplane good enough for what it needs to do?’”

“What we will see in the next few years, as they become certified, eventually, is a replacement for helicopters. So, the outskirts of Manhattan to JFK, for example. LAX airport to another helipad. So that we may see. I think it will be more for the wealthier, or corporate types. It won’t be the air taxi that everyone’s talking about.”