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Roei Ganzarski has resigned from his positions as CEO of MagniX and chairman of Eviation Aircraft. In a January 6 posting on LinkedIn, the electric aviation pioneer said that “with a heavy heart” he decided to leave the companies, both of which are subsidiaries of the Singapore-based investment group Clermont.
MagniX is developing electric propulsion units to convert turboprop aircraft such as the Cessna Grand Caravan and DHC-2 Beaver. The company is also providing its Magni 650 system for Eviation’s 11-seat Alice fixed-wing aircraft, which is imminently expected to make a first test flight. Both companies are based in Washington state.
At MagniX chief operating officer Michele D'Ercole has been appointed as interim CEO while the company conducts a search for a permanent replacement. He has been involved in the development of the electric propulsion system since the company's early years in Australia and relocated to its Everett, Washington, headquarters in January 2021.
Meanwhile, Eviation has appointed board member Dominique Spragg to replace Ganzarski as executive chairman. He is chief of aerospace strategy and business architect at the Clermont Group.
Ganzarski became CEO of MagniX in April 2018 and in October 2019 Clermont appointed him as Eviation’s chairman. Previously he spent just over 13 years with Boeing, most recently as chief customer officer for flight services, before joining software group BoldIQ as president and CEO.
This story was updated on January 10 with details about new executive appointments at MagniX and Eviation Aircraft.

Latest news about Eviation's Alice all-electric commuter airplane. 

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Roei Ganzarksi Steps Down from Electric Aviation Start-ups MagniX and Eviation

Tier 1 Engineering has selected MagniX’s Magni350 electric propulsion unit (EPU) to power its planned converted version&nbsp;of the Robinson R44 helicopter. The start-up is seeking an FAA supplemental type certificate (STC) to bring the eR44 model into commercial service to carry human organs for transplant procedures.
Launch customer Lung Biotechnology has committed to buying an unspecified number of the semi-autonomous aircraft. In test flights, Tier 1 has flown up to around 40 miles. The company has yet to publish performance data for the production version of the eR44, but it is expected to have a flight endurance of around an hour at speeds of around 90 mph. The standard piston-powered R44 can fly up to 345 miles.
On December 7, Tier 1 took delivery of the first EPU from MagniX at its facility in Santa Ana, California. Washington-based MagniX has been conducting test flights with aircraft converted to use its EPUs since December 2019 and says that it is making progress in its efforts to secure FAA Part 33 certification for the equipment under recently published Special Conditions.
“MagniX was chosen as they are leading the industry in the development of aviation-specific electric propulsion, and we recognized that significant progress has been made towards obtaining FAA certification,” said Tier 1 Engineering president Glen Dromgoole. “With MagniX’s technology, we are now much closer to obtaining STC approval of the eR44 and transforming the delivery of life-saving human organs.”
Another California-based start-up, Eco Helicopters, has been working on a plan to use electric-powered R44s for air taxi services. It has previously worked with Tier 1 Engineering to achieve this objective.
Lung Biotechnology is owned by Martine Rothblatt, whose United Therapeutics group has also committed to using Beta Technologies' Alia 250 eVTOL aircraft and EHang's EH216 Autonomous Aerial Vehicle for organ-transplant flights.
MagniX is seeking to convert existing fixed-wing aircraft such as the Cessna Caravan and the DHC-2 Beaver to electric power. It is also&nbsp;providing its EPUs for sister company's Eviation's nine-passenger Alice aircraft.

Tier1 Chooses MagniX Propulsion System for Electric R44 Helicopter

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Roei Ganzarksi Steps Down from Electric Aviation Start-ups MagniX and Eviation

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