CAPUA, Italy — The Tecnam P2010 H3PS hybrid aircraft took to the skies for the first time Dec. 21, 2021, a first flight company officials are calling “a milestone in green aviation.”
According to Tecnam officials, the P2010 H3PS is the first general aviation aircraft with a parallel hybrid configuration to take flight. The four-seat aircraft is powered by a 104kW Rotax 915 IS engine coupled with a 30kW Rolls-Royce electric motor, equating to a 180-hp powertrain.
“Though H3PS is not intended for market purposes, our successful flight tests demonstrate that hybrid powertrain, with combustion engine coupled with an electric motor, can bear the same useful load of the traditional 180hp combustion engine,” said Tecnam Aircraft’s R&D Director Fabio Russo.
H3PS, which stands for “High Power High Scalability Aircraft Hybrid Powertrain,” is a project funded under the European Union Horizon 2020 research and innovation program. Launched in 2018, the project has reached its objectives, Tecnam officials said.
“With H3PS’ success, Tecnam Aircraft and project partners have validated the aircraft’s scalability potential, lower emissions, state-of-the-art power management technology, building a viable launchpad for future green aircraft models,” they added.
I hope that the concept is to use the electric motor to assist in takeoff and climbout and then use the motor as a generator to charge the battery during descent allowing the gas engine excess power to recharge the engine. The fuel savings come from running the gas engine efficiently and avoiding the need for air brakes.