'Major milestone': Harbour Air completes another electric seaplane test flight
B.C. company Harbour Air says it has completed its first point-to-point test flight with its electric seaplane, nicknamed the "e-Beaver."
The modified De Havilland Beaver, which was retrofitted to run entirely on electric power back in 2019, completed the 72.4-kilometre test flight on Wednesday morning, the company said.
The flight from the Fraser River in the Lower Mainland to Patricia Bay on the coast of Vancouver Island took about 24 minutes to complete – with the company calling the test a "major milestone" in the plane's development.
"I am excited to report that this historic flight on the e-plane went exactly as planned," said Kory Paul, vice president of flight operations for Harbour Air, and one of the company's e-plane test pilots.
"Our team as well as the team at magniX and Transport Canada are always closely monitoring the aircraft’s performance and [Wednesday's] flight further proved the safety and reliability of what we have built," he said in a release Thursday.
The plane will stay in Victoria over the next several days, with the e-Beaver scheduled to fly over the BC Aviation Museum on Vancouver Island during an open house at the museum on Saturday.
After that, the plane will be sent back to the Vancouver International Airport where Harbour Air has an "aerospace maintenance facility."
In 2019, Harbour Air made headlines for completing the world's first test flight of an electric-powered commercial aircraft.
Last summer, the company said it was hoping to launch its first all-electric commercial flight with passengers in 2023.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Decoy bear used to catch man who illegally killed a grizzly, B.C. conservation officers say
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
OPP responds to apparent video of officer supporting anti-Trudeau government protestors
The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) says it's investigating an interaction between a uniformed officer and anti-Trudeau government protestors after a video circulated on social media.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Loud boom in Hamilton caused by propane tank, police say
A loud explosion was heard across Hamilton on Friday after a propane tank was accidentally destroyed and detonated at a local scrap metal yard, police say.