Hanneke Weitering is a writer and editor with AIN covering advanced air mobility and new flight technologies. She became an aviation journalist and joined the AIN team in the summer of 2022 after reporting on spaceflight and astronomy for six years at Space.com. After earning a bachelor’s degree in physics from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, she moved to New York City to pursue a master’s degree in science, health, and environmental reporting at New York University&#039;s Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute. She is now based in Seattle near Boeing Field and spends her free time exploring nature in the Pacific Northwest.

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Hanneke Weitering

The FAA has approved the certification basis for Ampaire’s hybrid-electric aircraft propulsion system, a retrofit-ready powertrain that could enter service in 2026 on the <a href="https://www.ainonline.com/news-article/2022-11-18/ampaires-hybrid-electric-eco-caravan-makes-first-test-flight">Eco Caravan</a>, a modified Cessna 208B Grand Caravan.
According to Ampaire, its AMP-H570 propulsion system is the first hybrid powertrain to earn an FAA G-1 issue paper, which identifies the regulations and airworthiness standards for certification. The Long Beach, California-based company expects to obtain supplemental type certificates (STCs) for the AMP-H570 and the Eco Caravan by the end of 2026, followed by additional STCs for other aircraft types in the future.
“This document codifies an agreement on the pathway that we will be walking with the FAA” to certify the AMP-H570, company CEO Kevin Noertker told AIN. He added that the G-1 “increases our confidence, and our investors’ confidence…that the goal posts aren't going to be moved.”
For Ampaire’s engineers, the G-1 issuance came with “a breath of certainty,” he said, “and a decrease in uncertainty that is really important, especially given the volatility in the world around us.”
<h2>Ampaire Moves Quicker than Expected</h2>
Despite tumultuous times at the FAA, where&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/air-transport/2025-02-17/hundreds-faa-employees-drawn-mass-layoffs">layoffs</a>&nbsp;implemented by the Department for Government Efficiency have hit the aircraft certification office, Ampaire was able to notch its G-1 milestone ahead of schedule, Noertker noted. “I didn’t expect to get to this milestone until after our next capital raise; we have just been phenomenally efficient,” he said.&nbsp;
With the G-1 issue paper in hand, Ampaire is now working with the FAA to agree on the means of compliance that will make up the G-2 issue paper. Then the company must demonstrate compliance through rigorous flight testing.&nbsp;Meanwhile, Ampaire is also working with the U.S. Air Force to bring the AMP-H570 into the Beechcraft King Air.
Ampaire’s hybrid-electric architecture employs a similar principle as electric ground vehicles, with batteries that can recharge during flight. This feature allows aircraft operators to reap some benefits of electric flight—less fuel consumption and fewer emissions—without being dependent on charging infrastructure.&nbsp;
In the Eco Caravan, Ampaire has replaced the standard Caravan’s Pratt &amp; Whitney PT6 turboprop engine with a 550-horsepower <a href="https://www.ainonline.com/news-article/2022-07-26/ampaire-picks-red-engine-hybrid-electric-eco-caravan">Red Aircraft A03</a> compression-ignition piston engine combined with an electric motor, with energy supplied by a battery pack located in the cargo pod.
The Eco Caravan has already demonstrated double the fuel efficiency of an unmodified Caravan, according to Ampaire. Last year, Ampaire conducted ground tests of the propulsion system using <a href="https://www.ainonline.com/news-article/2024-02-22/ampaire-runs-hybrid-electric-propulsion-system-100-percent-sustainable">100% sustainable aviation fuel</a> (SAF).

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