VoltAero has begun certification testing of the electric-hybrid powertrain which will be used on its five-seat Cassio 330 aircraft.
The French company, which heralded the start of the test program as a major milestone is running the powertrain on a test bench at the Bayonne, France facility of Akira Technologies.
VoltAero plans to certify the Cassio 330, its first aircraft in late 2025. The company is building a factory at Rochefort, France to make the aircraft which is due to open later this year.
The Cassio 330’s powertrain has a combined electric-hybrid power of 330kW, with 180kW delivered by Safran’s ENGINeUS 100 electric motor and 150kW provided by a Kawasaki thermal engine. The four-cylinder engine is derived from one used on a motorbike.
Cassio aircraft will use the internal combustion engine as a range extender, to recharge the batteries and as a backup in the event of a problem with the electric propulsion.
VoltAero, which was founded in 2017 is developing the Cassio family of hybrid-electric aircraft for regional commercial operators, air taxi/charter companies, private owners, and utility applications such as logistics and medevac.
The company plans to follow up the Cassio 330 with the six-seat Cassio 480, which will have a combined electric-hybrid propulsion power of 480 kilowatts, and the 10/12-seat Cassio 600.
The company has been using the Cassio S – a modified Cessna 337 Skymaster – as a flying testbed and to demonstrate its technology since March 2020.
Jean Botti, VoltAero’s CEO and chief technology officer said, “Full-scale powertrain certification testing for our Cassio 330 marks another important step in VoltAero’s commitment to produce a new-generation electric-hybrid aircraft family, bringing together our proprietary powertrain with an airframe that is optimized for aerodynamic and operational efficiency.”
According to Botti the architecture for the Cassio 330 powertrain already has been validated during flight testing with the Cassio S testbed airplane, which is equipped with a powertrain version rated at 600kW.
The Cassio airframe design is based on a sleek fuselage, a forward-fixed canard, and an aft-set wing with twin booms that support a high-set horizontal tail.
