Aircraft
Zunum Details Plans for First Hybrid-Electric Regional Aircraft
First aircraft would seat 12 passengers and fly as far as 700 miles
Zunum Aero's prospects for flying and certifying the ZA-10 hybrid-electric airliner appears to have dimmed. (Image: Zunum Aero)
Zunum Aero's prospects for flying and certifying the ZA-10 hybrid-electric airliner appears to have dimmed. (Image: Zunum Aero)

Kirkland, Washington-based startup Zunum Aero has decided on a 12-seat hybrid-electric airplane capable of flying as far as 700 miles as the launch vehicle for its effort to introduce to the market the first in a family of electric aircraft by 2022, the company announced Thursday. Designed to operate cheaply enough to rejuvenate a network of 5,000 underused regional and general aviation airports in the U.S., the Zunum 12-seater would offer a direct seat-mile cost of 8 cents or $250 an hour. Flying at a maximum cruise speed of 340 miles per hour, it would also take off from runways as short as 2,200 feet and produce 80 percent lower noise and emissions than a typical turboprop it would replace.