世界初、完全電動商用機の試験飛行　カナダ・バンクーバー

【バンクーバーＡＦＰ＝時事】世界初の完全電動商用機の試験飛行が10日、カナダのバンクーバーで行われた。航空機による大気汚染の問題を将来、解消するものと期待されている。（写真はカナダのバンクーバー国際空港近くを流れるフレーザー川で行われた世界初の完全電動商用機の試験飛行）
　米シアトルを拠点に航空機用の電動モーターを開発している「マグニクス」の最高経営責任者（ＣＥＯ）、ローイ・ガンザルスキー氏は「この試験飛行により完全に電動化された航空機の商用化が可能だということが示された」と述べた。
　この電動商用機についてマグニクスは、バンクーバーとスキーリゾートのウィスラーや周辺の島々、沿岸部の居住地域をつなぐサービスを年間５０万人に提供している航空会社「ハーバー・エア」と提携した。
　ガンザルスキー氏は報道陣に対し、この技術により航空会社は大幅なコスト削減が可能になるとし、「電気飛行機時代が始まった」と述べた。
　この電気飛行機の本体は、製造から６２年が経過しているデハビランド・カナダ製のＤＨＣ─２ビーバーという水上機で、電動モーターが組み込まれている。操縦はハーバー・エアの創業者グレッグ・マクドゥガル氏が担当した。
　マクドゥガル氏は「操縦はビーバーを飛ばすのとほとんど変わらなかったが、これは電気でパワーアップしたビーバーだ。だからややスピードを制御しながら操縦していた」とコメントした。
　バンクーバー空港に近いフレーザー川沿いで日の出後すぐに行われた試験飛行には、約１００人の見物人が訪れた。現場にいたＡＦＰの記者によると、飛行は１５分間以内に終了したという。
　今後も電気飛行機の信頼性と安全性の確認のため試験飛行が続けられる。加えて電動モーターは、規制当局の承認と認可を受ける必要がある。
　カナダのマルク・ガルノー運輸相は、初飛行前に首都オタワで報道陣の取材に応じ、「もし試験飛行が成功したら、航空機にも環境に配慮する流れが生まれるだろう」と述べた。
　バッテリーに関する課題もある。ガンザルスキー氏によると、試験飛行を行った型の飛行機はリチウムバッテリーで１６０キロしか飛行できないという。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2019/12/12-08:28）

The world's first fully electric commercial aircraft took its inaugural test flight on Tuesday, taking off from the Canadian city of Vancouver where tall mountain peaks edge the Pacific Ocean.
This proves that commercial aviation in all-electric form can work, said Roei Ganzarski, chief executive of Seattle-based engineering firm magniX.
The company designed the plane's motor and worked in partnership with Harbour Air, which ferries half a million passengers a year between Vancouver, Whistler ski resort and nearby islands and coastal communities.
Ganzarski said the technology would mean significant cost savings for airlines -- not to mention zero emissions.
This signifies the start of the electric aviation age, he told reporters.
Civil aviation is one of the fastest growing sources of carbon emissions as people increasingly take to the skies and new technologies have been slow to get off the ground.
The International Civil Aviation Organization has encouraged greater use of efficient biofuel engines and lighter aircraft materials, as well as route optimization.
The e-plane -- a 62-year-old, six-passenger DHC-2 de Havilland Beaver seaplane retrofitted with an electric motor ?- was piloted by Greg McDougall, founder and chief executive of Harbour Air.
For me that flight was just like flying a Beaver, but it was a Beaver on electric steroids. I actually had to back off on the power, he said.
McDougall took the plane on a short loop along the Fraser River near Vancouver International Airport in front of around 100 onlookers soon after sunrise.
- Environmentally-friendly flying -
The flight lasted less than 15 minutes, according to an AFP journalist on the scene.
Our goal is to actually electrify the entire fleet. There's no reason not to, said McDougall.
On top of fuel efficiency, the company would save millions in maintenance costs, as electric motors require drastically less upkeep, McDougall said.
However, Harbour Air will have to wait at least two years before it can begin electrifying its fleet of more than 40 seaplanes.
The e-plane has to be tested further to confirm it is reliable and safe. In addition, the electric motor must be approved and certified by regulators.
In Ottawa, Transport Minister Marc Garneau told reporters ahead of the maiden flight that he had his fingers crossed that the electric plane will work well.
If it does, he said, it could set a trend for more environmentally friendly flying.
Battery power is also a challenge. An aircraft like the one flown on Tuesday could only fly about 100 miles on lithium battery power, said Ganzarski.
While that's not far, it's sufficient for the majority of short-haul flights run by Harbour Air.
The range now is not where we'd love it to be, but it's enough to start the revolution, said Ganzarski, who predicts batteries and electric motors will eventually be developed to power longer flights.
While the world waits, he said cheaper short-haul flights powered by electricity could transform the way people connect and where they work.
If people are willing to drive an hour to work, why not fly 15 minutes to work? he said.