A French aviation company has completed a successful test flight of its next-gen aircraft, and a Florida city stands to benefit after agreeing to be a site for two assembly plants.
As detailed by The Daytona Beach News-Journal, Aura Aero's Integral E two-seat aircraft embarked on its maiden flight at the Toulouse Francazal Airport on Dec. 3. The lightweight electric plane can be recharged within 30 minutes, and the manufacturer estimates each hour of flight will cost around half as much as one in a dirty fuel-powered aircraft.
"The first flight of Integral E is a huge step forward, not only because the Integral family is now complete, but also because this aircraft is one of the first to address, an electric version, many of the needs expressed by training schools and flying clubs," said company president Jeremy Caussade, who co-founded Aura Aero in 2018 with a pair of aeronautical engineers.
"We are very proud of what we have achieved in six years and of the commercial success of the Integral family. Decarbonization of aviation is now a reality," he added.
The other two members of the Integral family — the Integral R and Integral S — are also two-seaters built from wood-carbon combinations for "optimized lightness," per the company, but the Integral E is the first electric Integral, contributing to the company's overall goal of reducing its aviation pollution by 55% over the next five years.
All in all, the aviation sector accounted for 2.4% of carbon pollution in 2018 — a deceptively small figure given that the percentage would've ranked sixth in planet-warming gas generation if it were a country, per the Environmental and Energy Study Institute. (To put that in perspective, the United Nations consists of 193 member states.)
With the rising global temperature leading to increased food insecurity, more intense extreme weather, and rising displacement and disease spread, multiple industries are working to limit harmful pollution from otherwise beneficial services. For instance, plant-based bioplastics may help the medical sector pivot from conventional plastics, which are derived from highly polluting dirty fuels.
In aviation, electric aircraft are receiving buzz because they don't spew pollution when operated. In September 2022, the first all-electric passenger flight from Eviation took to the skies for eight minutes. Today, more and more electric (and hybrid) options are hitting the market.
According to the News-Journal, a facility at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University Research Park in Daytona Beach will begin manufacturing the Integral E in 2025 and employ around 20 workers. The two-seater should take to the skies in 2026 after final testing and approvals.
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No way 👎 Construction on a 500,000-square-foot assembly plant for Aura Aero's eight-engine electric regional aircraft is also underway near Daytona Beach International Airport. When complete, the facility will build 19-seater commuter planes and cargo aircraft that can carry 1.9 tons. It is expected to bring more than 1,000 well-paying jobs to the area.
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