E-aircraft costs $2 to cross Cook Strait

ElectricAir founder Gary Freedman successfully made the first electric aircraft flight across Cook Strait on November 1, saying the “fuel” cost was just $2.

He was met at Wellington Airport after completing the 78km flight from Blenheim in 40 minutes by climate change minister James Shaw who heads to Glasgow later this week to attend the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) from November 1-12.

Freedman is delighted with the successful Cook Strait crossing which he says luckily didn’t have Wellington’s notorious wind although there was rain and cloud most of the way from Blenheim.

He would love to hear of Shaw mentioning the electric flight and the coming growth of electric aviation in New Zealand at the Glasgow conference.

“Action speaks louder than words,” says Freedman of the crossing, adding that the battery electric two-seat aircraft from Slovenian aircraft company Pipistrel launched a year ago by Christchurch-based ElectricAir has nearly done 200 hours flying since then.

Freedman estimates the Cook Strait flight used about 12kWh of power costing around $2 – although he charged up the e-aircraft for free at Blenheim and Wellington where he arrived with about 40% of battery power remaining.

The Pipistrel’s 70kg charger was carried by a Sounds Air aircraft accompanying its Cook Strait flight to record images of the event.

Freedman and his e-aircraft will remain at Wellington Airport for the next 10 days where it has a growing number of bookings for flights before heading to Palmerston North for a similar event via Paraparaumu about mid-November then back for the second Cook Strait crossing on the return home.

The aircraft’s charger will be carried by ElectricAir’s power provider Meridian Energy’s EV to Palmerston North and back to Wellington.