 | |
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Aerospace |
| Founded | 2016 |
| Headquarters | Albany, NY, U.S. |
Key people | Jeff Engler (CEO) |
| Products | Electric aircraft |
| Website | weflywright |
Wright Electric is an American startup company developing an electric airliner.
| | |
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Aerospace |
| Founded | 2016 |
| Headquarters | Albany, NY, U.S. |
Key people | Jeff Engler (CEO) |
| Products | Electric aircraft |
| Website | weflywright |
Wright Electric is an American startup company developing an electric airliner.
The aircraft is to run on batteries and handle flights of under 300 miles. [1] It will feature high aspect-ratio wings for energy efficient flight, distributed electric propulsion and swappable battery packs with advanced cell chemistry. [2]
The 10-person Los Angeles based startup was founded in 2016 and has received venture capital from groups such as Silicon Valley accelerator Y Combinator. [3] The company is named after the Wright brothers. [4]
In September 2017, UK budget carrier EasyJet announced it was developing an electric 180-seater for 2027 with Wright Electric. [5] Wright Electric built a two-seat proof-of-concept with 272 kg (600 lb) of batteries, and believes that batteries can be scaled up with substantially lighter new battery chemistries: a 291 nautical mile (540 km) range would suffice for 20% of Easyjet passengers. [6] Wright Electric plans to develop a 10-seater and eventually an at least 120 passengers single-aisle, short-haul airliner and targets 50% lower noise and 10% lower costs. [7]
To evaluate electric propulsion systems, two test stands were constructed: one with two 250 kW UQM motors and two Hartzell Propellers, built with Yates Electrospace, the other on a 10,000 lb (4,500 kg) trailer to be brought to high altitude test sites.[ citation needed ]
In May 2018, Jetex, a Dubai fixed-base operator with 30 bases, invested in the company. [8] [9]
By November 2018, Wright was testing a commercially available electric motor, before combining it with a Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A turboprop to be installed on an existing nine-seater for 2019 flight tests, which may be marketed subsequently. Wright is working with Madrid-based Axter Aerospace, already flying its two-seat AX-40S based on a Tecnam P92 with a Rotax piston engine and an electric motor driving the propeller, with four times less power. After a 50-seat model, Darold Cummings, designer of the ESAero ECO-80 turboelectric configuration for NASA, evolved this previous design for the Wright 186-seat airliner with 500 km (270 nm) of range for Easyjet, which could use a more powerful Wright-patented motor. [10]
By November 2019, test flights of the nine-seater were to begin in the coming weeks, while EasyJet partnered with Airbus to study a short-haul airliner concurrently. [11]
In January 2020, Wright Electric revealed that it was constructing a 1.5 MW electric motor and 3 kV inverters intended to power a 186-seat Wright 1 aircraft with a range of at least 300 nmi (560 km) that could enter into service from 2030. Ground testing of the motor is planned for 2021 and flight testing for 2023. [12]
Wright Electric has been granted the Sustainability Award 2020 by World Finance as the world's most sustainable organisation in the aircraft manufacturing industry. [13] [ importance? ]
In September 2021, Wright Electric started testing a 2 MW (2,700 hp) electric motor for its 800 nmi (1,500 km) range, 186-passenger Wright 1 airliner to enter service in 2030, partnering with EasyJet and Viva Aerobus. [14] In November 2021, the company announced an all-electric version of the BAe 146 regional jet for a 2024 first flight and a 2026 introduction, replacing its four turbofans with electric motors for an hour of endurance, with power coming from aluminum or hydrogen fuel cells. [14]
EasyJet plc is a British multinational low-cost airline group headquartered at London Luton Airport. It operates domestic and international scheduled services on 927 routes in more than 34 countries via its affiliate airlines EasyJet UK, EasyJet Switzerland, and EasyJet Europe. The company employs circa 13,000 people, based throughout Europe but mainly in the UK. EasyJet plc is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index.
A wide-body aircraft, also known as a twin-aisle aircraft and in the largest cases as a jumbo jet, is an airliner with a fuselage wide enough to accommodate two passenger aisles with seven or more seats abreast. The typical fuselage diameter is 5 to 6 m. In the typical wide-body economy cabin, passengers are seated seven to ten abreast, allowing a total capacity of 200 to 850 passengers. Seven-abreast aircraft typically seat 160 to 260 passengers, eight-abreast 250 to 380, nine- and ten-abreast 350 to 480. The largest wide-body aircraft are over 6 m (20 ft) wide, and can accommodate up to eleven passengers abreast in high-density configurations.
The Boeing 787 Dreamliner is an American wide-body airliner developed and manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. After dropping its unconventional Sonic Cruiser project, Boeing announced the conventional 7E7 on January 29, 2003, which focused largely on efficiency. The program was launched on April 26, 2004, with an order for 50 aircraft from All Nippon Airways (ANA), targeting a 2008 introduction. On July 8, 2007, a prototype 787 without major operating systems was rolled out; subsequently the aircraft experienced multiple delays, until its maiden flight on December 15, 2009. Type certification was received in August 2011, and the first 787-8 was delivered in September 2011 before entering commercial service on October 26, 2011, with ANA.
A regional airliner or a feeder liner is a small airliner that is designed to fly up to 100 passengers on short-haul flights, usually feeding larger carriers' airline hubs from small markets. This class of airliners is typically flown by the regional airlines that are either contracted by or subsidiaries of the larger airlines. Regional airliners are used for short trips between smaller towns or from a larger city to a smaller city. Feeder liner, commuter, and local service are all alternative terms for the same class of flight operations.
The Airbus A350 is a long-range, wide-body twin-engine airliner developed and produced by Airbus. The initial A350 design proposed in 2004, in response to the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, would have been a development of the Airbus A330 with composite wings and new engines. Due to inadequate market support, Airbus switched in 2006 to a clean-sheet "XWB" design, powered by two Rolls-Royce Trent XWB high bypass turbofan engines. The prototype first flew on 14 June 2013 from Toulouse, France. Type certification from the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) was obtained in September 2014, followed by certification from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) two months later.
A regional jet (RJ) is a jet-powered regional airliner usually defined by having less than 100 seats. The first aircraft considered part of this category was the Sud-Aviation Caravelle in 1959, followed by the more widespread Douglas DC-9, BAC One-Eleven, Yakovlev Yak-40, Fokker F28, and BAe 146. The 1990s saw the emergence of the Canadair Regional Jet and Embraer Regional Jet families, followed by the larger Embraer E-Jet and multiple competing projects. This time period also saw the bankruptcy of Fokker in 1996 and departure of BAE Systems from the market in 2001, significantly reducing the number of RJ manufacturers.
A narrow-body aircraft or single-aisle aircraft is an airliner arranged along a single aisle, permitting up to 6-abreast seating in a cabin less than 4 metres (13 ft) in width. In contrast, a wide-body aircraft is a larger airliner usually configured with multiple aisles and a fuselage diameter of more than 5 metres (16 ft), allowing at least seven-abreast seating and often more travel classes.
An electric aircraft is an aircraft powered by electricity. Electric aircraft are seen as a way to reduce the environmental effects of aviation, providing zero emissions and quieter flights. Electricity may be supplied by a variety of methods, the most common being batteries. Most have electric motors driving propellers or turbines.
A hydrogen-powered aircraft is an aeroplane that uses hydrogen fuel as a power source. Hydrogen can either be burned in a jet engine or another kind of internal combustion engine, or can be used to power a fuel cell to generate electricity to power an electric propulsor. It cannot be stored in a traditional wet wing, and hydrogen tanks have to be housed in the fuselage or be supported by the wing.
The Comac C919 is a narrow-body airliner developed by Chinese aircraft manufacturer Comac. The development program was launched in 2008. Production began in December 2011, with the first prototype being rolled out on 2 November 2015; the maiden flight took place on 5 May 2017. On 29 September 2022 the C919 received its CAAC type certificate. The first production airframe was delivered to China Eastern Airlines on 9 December 2022 and was put into commercial passenger service on 28 May 2023.
The fuel economy in aircraft is the measure of the transport energy efficiency of aircraft. Fuel efficiency is increased with better aerodynamics and by reducing weight, and with improved engine brake-specific fuel consumption and propulsive efficiency or thrust-specific fuel consumption. Endurance and range can be maximized with the optimum airspeed, and economy is better at optimum altitudes, usually higher. An airline efficiency depends on its fleet fuel burn, seating density, air cargo and passenger load factor, while operational procedures like maintenance and routing can save fuel.
The Comac C929 is an under development long-range 250-to-320-seat wide-body twinjet airliner by Chinese state-owned aircraft manufacturer Comac as a competitor to the Airbus A330neo and Boeing 787 Dreamliner.
The Airbus/Rolls-Royce/Siemens E-Fan X was a hybrid electric aircraft demonstrator being developed by a partnership of Airbus, Rolls-Royce plc and Siemens. Announced on 28 November 2017, it followed previous electric flight demonstrators towards sustainable transport for the European Commission’s Flightpath 2050 Vision. A BAe 146 flying testbed was to have one of its four Lycoming ALF502 turbofans replaced by a Siemens 2 MW (2,700 hp) electric motor, adapted by Rolls-Royce and powered by its AE2100 turboshaft, controlled and integrated by Airbus with a 2 t (4,400 lb) battery. In April 2020, the programme was cancelled during the COVID-19 pandemic.
This is a list of aviation-related events in 2019.
The Boom Overture is a supersonic airliner under development by Boom Technology, designed to cruise at Mach 1.7 or 975 knots. It will accommodate 64 to 80 passengers, depending on the configuration, and have a range of 4,250 nautical miles. Boom Technology aims to introduce the Overture in 2029. The company projects a market for up to 1,000 supersonic airliners, serving 500 viable routes, with fares comparable to business class. Featuring a delta wing design reminiscent of the Concorde, but the Overture will utilize composite materials in its construction. A 2022 redesign specified four dry (non-afterburning) turbofan engines, each producing 160 kilonewtons of thrust.
The VoltAero Cassio is a family of hybrid electric aircraft being developed by startup company VoltAero. The company plans to produce three configurations of the Cassio aircraft: the four-place Cassio 330, the six-place Cassio 480, and the ten-place Cassio 600.
A hybrid electric aircraft is an aircraft with a hybrid electric powertrain. As the energy density of lithium-ion batteries is much lower than aviation fuel, a hybrid electric powertrain may effectively increase flight range compared to pure electric aircraft. By May 2018, there were over 30 hybrid electric aircraft projects, and short-haul hybrid-electric airliners were envisioned from 2032.
The Ampaire Electric EEL is a hybrid electric aircraft developed by U.S. startup Ampaire, established in Hawthorne, California. The forward piston engine of a Cessna 337 Skymaster is replaced by an electric motor powered by a battery, in a parallel hybrid configuration. The demonstrator first flew on 6 June 2019.
Project Fresson is the development by Cranfield Aerospace of an electric propulsion system for the over 700 BN-2 Islanders currently operated, supported by Britten-Norman.
ZeroAvia is a British/American hydrogen-electric aircraft developer. The company was founded in 2017 by Valery Miftakhov, who currently serves as the company CEO. ZeroAvia is developing hydrogen-fueled powertrain technology aiming to compete with conventional engines in propeller aircraft, with an aim of zero-emission and lower noise. ZeroAvia expects to sell products by 2023 and demonstrate flights up to 500 miles (800 km) in aircraft of up to 20 seats. According to the company, by 2026, ZeroAvia intends to fly an aircraft over 500 miles range in aircraft with up to 80 seats.