Airflow Will Use Cessna 210 as a Technology Demonstrator for Its eSTOL Freighter
The aircraft will serve middle-mile freight distribution routes of between 50 and 300 miles when it enters service in 2025.
Airflow will use a Cessna 210 aircraft to develop a technology demonstrator for its planned hybrid-electric eSTOL freighter. The California-based startup will remove the six-seater’s single piston engine and replace it with a distributed electric propulsion system. It will then use the aircraft to evaluate the short takeoff and landing performance on which it will base the business case for its planned air logistics service network.
In December, Airflow announced the selection of VerdeGo Aero to provide its powertrain for the fixed-wing design. The combined Jet A/battery pack hybrid propulsion system is expected to deliver a 35 percent reduction in carbon dioxide emissions compared with conventional turbine engines.
