magniX, an Everett, Washington-based company developing an electric aircraft motor, has successfully completed the first phase of testing at the NASA Electric Aircraft Testbed (NEAT) facility in Sandusky, Ohio.
The testing focused on high voltage (800V) operations and thermal performance, according to company officials, who said the results confirmed the magni650 electric motor’s capabilities at altitudes of up to 27,500 feet.
The testing is being carried out as part of NASA’s Electrified Powertrain Flight Demonstration (EPFD) program. NASA awarded magniX a $74.3 million contract in 2021 as an EPFD partner, which is aimed at accelerating electric aviation, company officials said.
Under the program, magniX is retrofitting a de Havilland Dash 7 with a magniX electric powertrain. The Preliminary Design Review (PDR) to establish the baseline design for the flight demonstration and retrofit of the Dash 7 was completed in February 2024.
The next phase of testing at the NEAT facility will begin in June and focus on expanding the operating envelope for altitude, power, and temperature, company officials said.
That testing “will further the understanding” of the performance and reliability of magniX’s electric powertrain in all conditions it would encounter in flight, officials added.
For more information: magnix.aero
NASA pulled the plug on its similar effort X-57 airplane last year after the NASA IG wrote a scathing report on the waste of time and money with little to show for it. The facility shown here was built as a part of that effort AND to “hide” expendatures on that program. The only good news here is that MagniX is — hopefully — paying for its use of the facility in Ohio.
See: oig.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/ig-23-014.pdf
800 volts floating around an airplane … you won’t find ME in one! And the U.S. grid is already overtaxed both in the generation AND transmission of energy. Aviation ought to be the LAST means of transportation headed for electrification.
This makes zero sense, both from an economic and environmental perspective. Which makes a perfect project for NASA, wasting more millions of tax dollars in a country with a $35T national debt. I suggest the students involved learn more about dino-fuel powered turbines and diesels, which are the future for aviation.
Kent,
Your assertions are interesting but I don’t see a shred of evidence to back them up. Please provide concrete reasons for them, and especially links to available online references supporting your arguments. Personally I see aircraft electrification as a likely path to a viable future for many kinds of aviation.
Cheers, Rol
The motors and controllers are well developed, and this motor is 650 HP max.
The only issue that they have to test is the cooling of the motor and controller at altitude, since both are liquid cooled.
The ‘big problem’ is the battery capacity in kWhrs per pound.
The Li-ion battery has 1/20th of the kwhr/lb vs avgas.
So, to fly my Cessna with 50 gal of avgas, the battery would weigh 5,500 lb.!!
[ 558 kwhrs ], The gross weigh of my Cessna is 2,350 lb, and the 50 gal of avgas weighs 300 lb.
As an example, the Tesla 100 kWhr battery weighs about 1,000+ pounds, or 0.1 kWhr per pound.
Avgas has 33,500 kWhr per gallon, or about 1.9 kWhr per pound.,[ 3.4 btu/watt-hr, 5.9 lb/gallon, and 1/3 efficiency of the ice engine vs motor/controller]
There isn’t any new chemistry better than Li-ion, so E-aircraft will be limited to light weight and short range for the foreseeable future…
Oh, and then there is the charging equipment costs and utility capacity to recharge a large capacity battery.!