Projects Smart Mobility
2 min.
E-Flight, the Dutch electric aviation start-up that will open the Caribbean region’s first-ever electric flight school on Bonaire this summer, has recently announced via its own blog that an agreement has been reached with the Flight Design, a well-reputed German manufacturer of sustainable aircraft. As a result of the collaboration, E-Flight will become both an importer and dealer for Flight Design in the European and Caribbean Netherlands. Naturally, the start-up will also be making use of Flight Design aircraft itself for its courses and other commercial activities.
Big plans
More than being the Caribbean’s first electric flight school, the E-Flight Academy at Flamingo Airport in Bonaire together with the E-Flight’s first academy in Teuge (near Apeldoorn, in the European Netherlands) is actually the only place in the world where pilots can obtain their electric flying license. Since the launch of the project in the Netherlands last year, E-Flight has seen more than thirty students enroll, while they also get about 25 requests for try-out lessons per month. While still offering enormous room for growth, these numbers represent a promising start for the ambitious sustainable aviation project.
This is also confirmed by E-Flight’s plans to expand its fleet of electric aircraft with at least one F2 and three F2e’s from Flight Design. The F2 is the Germans’ newest aircraft, fitted with an innovative Garmin avionic suite and a super-efficient Rotax motor. The model is also CS-23 certified and Flight Design compensates the carbon cost of the first 2’000 flying hours of every model sold. The F2e is the fully electric version of the F2 and the expected flagship model for both Flight Design and E-Flight. Its 75Kwh batteries provide it with an action radius of about 144 minutes, which is more than enough for most domestic flights in the Dutch Caribbean, but we’ll have to be a bit patient before its benefits can be enjoyed. The first model is expected to be available for sale in 2024.
Are you interested in electric aviation? As an enthusiast, an aspiring pilot or a journalist, for example? Get in touch with E-Flight partner Merlijn van Vliet via merlijn@eflight.nl or send us a message here and we’ll help you out!
The basis for this article was originally published on www.eflight.nl in April 2022.
