With an increasing demand for cleaner and more sustainable forms of air travel, the Olympia Regional Airport (OLM) is setting its sights on electric airplanes as the future of aviation.
On Mon., Sept. 27, Leah Whitfield, a project manager for the Port of Olympia, which owns airport, discussed the possibility of electric aviation during the Airport Master Plan Update open house. In her presentation, Whitfield shared that airplane manufacturers plan to make electric aircraft available in the market sometime in the next two or three years. Whitfield noted that electric aircraft are currently being built and tested within the state of Washington. Whitfield shared that some of the electric aircraft which will soon be available include general aviation (2-4 passengers), small electric aircraft (9 passengers), and small cargo aircraft.
Shhhhhhh …
According to Whitfield, what makes electric aviation different from traditional aircraft is that it is relatively quiet. “It has less impact on the community overall,” Whitfield said. She continued, “but really the future of electric aviation is a much quieter aircraft.”
The news came after the Washington State Department of Transportation recommended OLM as an initial beta test site for electric aircraft in its 2020 Electric Aircraft Feasibility study. Whitfield shared that some of the factors that the state department took into consideration include the airport location, its ability for additional development, and the size of the runway.
Charging
The OLM sees two ways to charge the electric aircraft. One is through battery swapping where staff replaces a spent battery with a fully charged one. Whitfield noted that one of the benefits of battery swapping is that it has less peak demand on the electrical grid. Currently, manufacturers are testing magniX’s eCaravan at Moses Lake, WA using the battery swapping process.
Another potential solution is on-site or direct aircraft charging. Whitfield explained that the process is similar to charging a plug-in electric car. On the downside, the project manager shared that it might take some time before airports adopt on-site charging. She explained currently, there is still no industry standard for charging stations or existing infrastructure to accommodate on-site charging.
The proposal for electric aviation was included in the OLM’s Master Plan which provides a framework to help the airport meet its future aviation demands. “There are lots of exciting things happening at the emerging aviation technologies right now, and I think there’s definitely an opportunity at Olympia to engage in sustainable practices,” Whitfield concluded.
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