Chad is the editor of AINalerts, AIN's daily business aviation newsletter, and is also the news editor at AIN Media Group.&nbsp;He has been writing about aviation, with an emphasis on business aviation, since 1994. Chad started his writing career at The Avion,&nbsp;the&nbsp;student newspaper at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, Florida, serving as editor-in-chief before graduating with a bachelor's in aeronautical science. After a stint as managing editor at Professional Pilot&nbsp;magazine, he joined&nbsp;AIN in late 1998. Chad holds a commercial pilot certificated with instrument and multi-engine ratings, and he also is a CFI/CFII. He lives and works from his home in Venice, Florida.

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Safran Helicopter Engines will develop the 600-kilowatt&nbsp;turbogenerator propulsion system for the prototype of Electra.aero’s nine-passenger, hybrid-electric&nbsp;short-takeoff-and-landing (HeSTOL) aircraft, the companies revealed this week at the 2023 Paris Airshow.
Earlier this month, Electra <a href="https://www.futureflight.aero/news-article/2023-06-12/electra-rolls-out-estol-technology-demonstrator-aircraft-ahead-flight">rolled out a two-seat technology demonstrator</a> vehicle, which uses blown lift via distributed electric propulsion. It plans to be ready to fly the full-scale prototype in 2025 as it advances toward FAA Part 23 certification in 2028.
According to Electra, the Safran turbogenerator is the heart of the as-yet-unnamed eSTOL’s hybrid-electric propulsion architecture. The turbogenerator includes a gas turbine based on Safran’s Arrano turboshaft engine driving two GENeUS electric generators, as well as an electrical power management system. Safran said it has already ground-tested several types of turbogenerators at various power levels.
“We’ve closely evaluated the advanced air mobility market, and we believe the Electra eSTOL offers groundbreaking capability in a practical design that meets market needs of both today and tomorrow while being backed by a team with decades of experience to enable its success,” said Safran Helicopter Engines executive v-p of OEM sales Florent Chauvancy.
“We will be bringing to their project all the expertise we have independently developed in the field of hybrid-electric propulsion, combining electric and thermal energy sources, to develop the right turbogenerator for Electra’s first nine-passenger prototype aircraft.”
J.P. “James” Stewart, Electra’s v-p and general manager, explained that “hybrid propulsion is key to providing emissions and cost reductions while preserving useful payloads, ranges, and speeds.”

Chad Trautvetter

Safran Helicopter Engines is supplying a 600-kW turbogenerator for Electra's nine-passenger hybrid-electric short takeoff and landing prototype, which is expected to fly in 2025. (Photo: Safran Helicopter Engines)

Safran Turbogenerator To Power Electra's Full-scale HeSTOL Prototype

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