THE NEXT GENERATION AIRCRAFT POWER LIST

Here are the ten next generation regional aircraft manufacturers we tip to succeed, that means we believe they will have aircraft in service with partners by the beginning of the next decade.

As with our other reports we’ve looked at the management team, pre-orders and airline partners, the technology, funding, and where each company is in the development cycle.

Ampaire

Cranfield Aerospace Solutions

Electra

Eviation

Faradair

Heart Aerospace MagniX

REGENT

Universal Hydrogen

ZeroAvia

Ampaire

Based in - Hawthorne, California Aircraft - Electric EEL, Eco Caravan, Eco Otter (all retrofits), Tailwind Technology route - Hybrid electric and electric

CEO - Kevin Noertker has an avionics background, having been at NASA and Northrop Grumman. As Ampaire’s CEO since 2016, Kevin Noertker also served in 2021 and 2022 as the founder of the Amp division of Surf Air, a private aviation charter marketplace that is looking to transition to low or zero emission flights.

Co-Founder Cory Combs likewise came from Northrop Grumman, as part of the advanced aircraft programs unit, where he was an R&D engineer on multiple X-planes intended to test novel concepts.

Ampaire is initially looking at retrofitting existing aircraft and then eventually developing its own.

Its flight plan sees it first of all running tests with a hybrid-electric powertrain on modified Cessna 337s, which it calls the “Electric EEL.”

The Electric EEL broke the record for a non-stop flight of a hybrid-electric aircraft by flying between Mojave, California, and Hays, Kansas, a 1135 mile route.

The “Eco Caravan” is an eleven seat Cessna 208B Grand Caravan, which can achieve a 90% reduction in emissions if SAF is used (like the Electric EEL, the Eco Caravan is hybrid-electric). This will be the first Ampaire aircraft to be in service.

The Eco Caravan was the aircraft that on demand private aviation company Surf Air was intending to use for its California route network.

Surf Air was considering buying Ampaire, but is no longer doing so, and so Ampaire now talks about the intention to “move forward as an independent company on its mission to reduce aviation emissions.”

However, WingTips, another California aerial mobility provider has announced a firm order for five Eco Caravans, with options for 20 more, and eventual expansion plans to have a fleet of 175 of these aircraft.

WingTips plans to use these new aircraft on regional routes of 100 to 400 statute miles, flying mainly from general aviation airports.

Operating cost reduction of 25-40% Ampaire says that the Eco Caravan uses 70 percent less fuel on short trips and 50 percent less on longer trips with corresponding emissions reductions.

When using sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), emissions reduction is nearly 100 percent.

Total operating cost reduction ranges from 25 to 40 percent, depending on route structure.

The aircraft can operate independently of ground charging infrastructure by recharging the batteries in-flight when desired, as with hybrid-electric cars today.

Electric Power Systems (EP Systems) will be supplying the propulsion battery pack for the Eco Caravan.

Ampaire says this is the first hybridelectric aircraft to enter the certification process with the FAA. A supplemental type certification for the upgraded aircraft is expected in 2024.

The “Eco Otter”, is the next aircraft in Ampaire’s product cycle. This will be a retrofitted DHC6, which can be used on short regional routes of the kind we talked about in this report.

Finally, the Tailwind will be a new, fully electric aircraft. For now, this is still at the concept stage.

As well as being active in California, Ampaire has done a number of test flights in the UK.

Last year, it ran hybrid electric flights using the Electric EEL between Kirkwall in the Orkney Islands, and John O’Groats at the Northern point of the Scottish mainland.