ZeroAvia Converts Second Dornier 228 for Hydrogen Propulsion Flight Testing
The 19-seat regional airliner could be ready to start flight testing with a combination of its turboprop engines and the company's ZA600 hydrogen-electric powertrain by September 2022.
ZeroAvia this week started preparing a second Dornier 228 aircraft to serve as a testbed for the hydrogen-electric propulsion system. The 19-seat twin-turboprop regional airliner is at the company’s headquarters in Hollister, California, where it is being fitted with the ZA600 powertrain developed by ZeroAvia's UK-based team under the government-funded HyFlyer II project.
In a May 6 statement, the company said it could take another three or four months to prepare the Dornier 228 to start test flights. ZeroAvia, which is aiming to complete FAA certification for the 600-kW powertrain in 2024, says that the system will power aircraft with between 10 and 20 seats operating on routes of up to around 500 miles.
