Hybrid-electric powered Cassio put through its paces





The most powerful hybrid-electric powertrain for VoltAero's family of Cassio production airplanes is building up flight time in airborne evaluations on the Cassio 1 testbed aircraft, including its first public presentation during an event organised at the company's Aérodrome de Royan-Médis headquarters in southwest France.



Installed in an aft-fuselage "pusher" position with a five-blade propeller, this proprietary power module combines three 60 kW high-performance electric motors with a 370hp internal combustion engine. It prefigures the propulsion system to be used on VoltAero's largest production Cassio aircraft: the 10-seat Cassio 600 version, which is to deliver a total hybrid-electric power of 600 kW (800 hp.).

The Cassio 1 testbed also retains two wing-mounted ENGINeUS 45 electric motors from Safran Electrical & Power, installed in the forward-facing "puller" position.

The ongoing testing of these "smart" electric motors, as well as the hybrid-electric power module, is providing unmatched in-flight experience for VoltAero with cutting-edge electrical propulsion.

An underside view of the Cassio 1 testbed highlights VoltAero's proprietary hybrid-electric power module, which is integrated in the aft fuselage "pusher" position. The aircraft also is equipped with two Safran ENGINeUS 45 electric motors, installed in the wing-mounted "puller" position.

VoltAero's Cassio 1 testbed aircraft parallels the French Atlantic coast during one of its latest flight evaluations, performed from the company's headquarters operation at Royan-Médis airport.

At the controls was VoltAero Technical Director and pilot, Didier Esteyne.

By validating its hybrid-electric power module on the Cassio 1 testbed aircraft, VoltAero is gaining significant expertise that will be applied to its production Cassio airplanes, including the company-developed battery management and cooling system, along with a new optimized "glass cockpit."

Cassio 1 taxis to the assembled crowd at the Royan-Médis airport to conclude the first public flight event.

As part of the presentation, Cassio 1 took off behind a piston engine-powered aircraft of the same size category, which demonstrated the hybrid-electric testbed's lower noise level.

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