GE, BETA collaborate on first hybrid-electric flight above 30,000 feet
GE Aerospace, working with BETA Technologies and others, announced today it has flown a Saab 340b airplane modified with one hybrid-electric engine above 30,000 feet, marking the first hybrid-electric flight at the same altitude where airline traffic typically occurs.
NASA in a release said the testing “leveraged work done through NASA’s former Electrified Powertrain Flight Demonstration project and the agency’s ongoing Subsonic Vehicle Technologies and Tools project.”
GE said the test flight took place in the United States, and the companies again flew the modified Saab today at the Farnborough International Airshow in England. During a livestream of the show, an announcer called it the “first airline-sized aircraft to publicly demonstrate megawatt-class hybrid-electric propulsion in flight.”
The aircraft soared over the airfield after takeoff, performing several turns and loops and showing off a slightly larger right nacelle where the electric generator was housed. A Saab 340b normally seats 30 to 36 passengers.
GE in 2021 received a $179 million contract from the EPFD program to build and test a megawatt-class hybrid-electric powertrain. BETA was tapped more recently for its expertise in certifying and integrating electric propulsion systems, BETA told me in an email.
GE in a release said its test and engineering teams “addressed heat management, lower atmospheric pressures and power density” typically found at higher altitudes.
“During tests, the team’s single longest flight in hybrid electric operation was more than two hours,” the company added.
Following the U.S. test flights, BETA pilots flew the modified plane to the U.K. in legs from Newfoundland to Greenland, Iceland and Scotland, BETA told me. “The hybrid system was engaged during each leg to enable the pilots to climb to cruise more quickly (using electric assist) and charge the batteries (using generate mode),” BETA said in the email.
