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Air Napier has signed a purchase agreement with Maeve Aerospace to acquire thirty-five Maeve 01 electric aircraft. Along with European start-up FlyWithLucy (Eindhoven), the New Zealand carrier will be the launch customer of the type. When developed, the Maeve 01 aims to scoot along 264 knots per hour with a range of 460 kilometres. The aircraft will be capable of carrying 44 passengers and recharging in 36 minutes. Maeve is eyeing commercial service entry around the end of the decade. "Right now in New Zealand, there are a lot of opportunities in aviation, because most regions have limited or no air connectivity at all. This is where Maeve potentially comes into play, as Maeve 01 seems to be the perfect combination of range and capacity," said Air Napier CEO Shah Aslam. Air Napier, a subsidiary of SO Capital, is a passenger charter operator with a mixed fleet comprising a Falcon 2000EX/EASY/LX, Piper (twin turboprop) PA-31 Navajos, Piper (twin piston) PA-34 Senecas, and a Piper (single piston) Cherokee.
The full article can be found here : https://www.ch-aviation.com/portal/news/128956-new-zealands-air-napier-orders-35-maeve-01s
Hahahaha that is absolutely hilarious. Nothing this guy says can be taken seriously. Sooo many lofty ideas. I doubt Air Napier would have the capital to fund 1 of these Aircraft, let alone over 30 of them.
ReplyDeleteYes, but careful, don't shoot the messenger. This guy is always good for a chortle with his wacky ideas.
DeleteWhy do people keep signing up to this stuff? You would think there must be somebody in these with a bit of engineering sense that would have the snake oil sensors tingling. Battery’s do not have the power density required and at there current improvement rate won't for a very long time. There's a reason why Tecnam pulled the pin on their electric aircraft project.
ReplyDeleteAren't Sounds Air introducing their full electric fleet in 2026?? At least these guys are waiting until the end of the decade!
ReplyDeleteThis electric aeroplane situation is no more than marketing spin. There is no aeroplane that exists currently that would suit real world airline operations. That is unless passengers are prepared to travel with no luggage?? Also good luck doing 20 min turns. You will be charging for probably triple that time. The marketing of it actually shouldn’t be allowed. The public just lap it up as gospel when we all know that it is PR spin.
ReplyDeleteI respect the airlines that have no “big announcement”, Barrier, Chathams etc.
lol. But it is only a prototype??????
DeleteKris, It's a web site with pretty renders, nothing more. Just do the basic math lets assume 40 seats, 2500 hp (1620 kW) in cruse, they say 1 hr endurance + 3/4 hr IFR reserves total flying time 1.75 hrs, So we need a 2835 KWh battery. Let’s be generous and say 250 watt hours per kg so just the battery weighs 11340 kg. To recharge 1620 kwh in 30 mins that’s 3240 kW (3.2 Megawatts) That’s about 500 typical houses, that’s one big power cord.
DeleteAnd also not to mention they are a start up. There is a good reason why established larger brands don’t have any prototypes. That’s because it doesn’t work.
ReplyDeleteEven look at the caravans with electric replacement power plants. It doesn’t work. Where do you put the luggage when you don’t have a baggage pod as a it is full of batteries????
A Falcon 2000 in the fleet????
ReplyDeleteParent Companies fleet
DeleteOh right. Who is the parent company to Air Napier?
DeleteI think it is called SO Capital or something like that
DeleteWell I'll bite. My attitude is never knock anything at the start, because you may end up looking stupid if it does happen. Sooner or later, someone is going to develop a viable electric airliner, although it will almost certainly be for short-hauls. Something like what Sounds Air are planning. BTW, I always have conviction in what I post and use my real name, and don't hide as being Anonymous.
ReplyDeleteWow! Using your real name. How cool.
DeleteAt the end of the day the comments here seem to reflect on Air Napier and their constant stream of high in the sky ideas which never seem to work out. For a tiny airline operating a handful of flights, to all of a suddden going and ordering 35 of these Maeve 01 aircraft is beyond crazy. Air New Zealand only have 29 ATR 72-600s.
Then you have this aircraft. The numbers provided just do not add up. Lots of questions that's for sure.
So with a simplistic view you think it is ok / fair to competitors etc to market a product that doesn’t exist?
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