CAE and Piper have revealed that they will partner with Safran and H55 to develop an STC to convert PA 28-181s to electric power. Under the STC, Safran’s ENGINeUS 100 engine will be mated to with a battery system from H55. Once approval is secured CAE will be looking to first reequip its own PA28 fleet before moving on to offer the modification to other PA28 operators. “People forget that we are the largest operator of Archers in the world so our own fleet is a pretty good start but remember there are around 28,000 Archers in service so there is a large market for the STC” explained CAE’s Marc Parent “apart from the business opportunity there is the benefit that the project will bring us as Canada’s first carbon neutral technology company, if we make less carbon in the first place we have less to offset”.
Parent went on to describe the mission profile of training aircraft explaining that “we are looking a power source for a high use airframe – a 1000 hours a year with and average mission length of an hour plus a 30 min reserve.
The programme also has the support of the both the Quebecois Provincial government as well as the National government, a point underscored be the prescience of Pierre Fitzgibbon, Quebec’s Minister of Economy and Innovation and The Federal Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, Francois-Phillippe Champagne who both spoke in praise of not only the programme but the CDN 1 bn Project Renaissance that is providing support to the project. “Canada is leading the world when it comes to the innovation required for the low carbon economy, thanks to our support of CAE and Piper we will see not only 700 new jobs in Canada, today’s announcement will also see green aircraft technologies that will be used all over the world”.
Concluding the announcement Piper VP Sales Ron Gunnarson explained his company’s role at Piper we are not a technology company, we are airframers and integrators. We take our airframes and mate them with the best avionics and engines for the purpose that we can find, we began with piston, added turbines and then diesels and now electrics. So it’s not so different from what we’ve done before.”
Questioned about the expected output of ther new engine from Safran Gunnerson said it was too early to say but that he expected something more akin to the Warrior’s 160hp than the Archer’s 180hp.
Asked if the step beyond a successful programme would be an STC for the Seneca or Seminole Gunnerson said that the fit would be far better for the Seminole’s mission profile. “You have to take the big picture” said Parent “the whole of our industry is working to reduce emissions. The point is people need to travel and airlines need pilots if we in this part of the puzzle can create pilots while reducing not only the carbon signature but also the noise footprint then we are really getting somewhere”.
