The Montreal specialist in pilot training and simulators CAE wants to train future pilots in electric planes.
The company plans to convert two-thirds of its fleet of 200 Piper trainer planes and develop a training program for electric planes. CAE unveiled the partnership with Piper Aircraft on Tuesday at the Farnborough Airshow in the UK.
“We are going to be the first operator,” explained CAE’s Chief Sustainable Development Officer, Hélène Gagnon, in an interview. “That means that we have to develop the whole curriculum [qui répond à la question] “how do you train on an electric plane?”. »
Mme Gagnon was unable to say when CAE might expect its target of converting two-thirds of its Piper aircraft. She explains that it is difficult to provide a precise timetable with the development of the new program and the regulatory steps to be taken. “It will be in a few years,” she says. Will it be one year, three years, five years? We are in that range. It’s not in a lot of time. We start now; you will see a difference quite quickly. »
The development of training in Quebec, in collaboration with the National School of Aeronautics, is a first step that could lead to the electrification of Piper’s fleet of 28,000 training devices, adds Ms.me Gagnon. “We think there’s going to be interest from a lot of other flight academies using Piper aircraft,” she said.
In addition to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, going electric will reduce noise pollution around schools, she points out. “When you have an electric plane, it’s a bit like an electric car: you don’t hear it. It will make a big change. »
Aeronautics and environment
The announcement comes at a time when discussions on carbon neutrality and the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions monopolize the exchanges of the major players in the industry gathered at the Farnborough Airshow.
The record heat wave which rages at the same time in the United Kingdom, where the mercury is around 40 degrees Celsius, adds a symbolic dimension to the event.
Present in Farnborough, the federal Minister of Industry, François-Philippe Champagne, told The Canadian Press on Monday that he intended to make the development of green technologies a central element in the promotion of the Canadian aerospace industry.
“Soon, we will be able to make green aluminum, green steel, he listed. We are in the process of developing technologies that will allow us to develop new, lighter materials. In addition, we are in the process of developing various options in biofuels, even hydrogen. »