VoltAero to provide electric aircraft to Malaysian flight academy
The pilot’s academy itself sits under the Halim Mazmin Group, a large Malaysian corporation active in shipping, aviation, education, hospitality and tourism – which, if the partnership is successful, may look to deploy more hybrid aircraft in these sectors.
The order itself is for an initial batch of 15, but there are reportedly provisions for an additional 15 aircraft to be procured in future. A French startup, VoltAero unveiled the production version of the Cassio 330 in June. It uses a conventional take-off and landing method rather than the VTOL approach of many other electric aircraft, which streamlines certifiability and reduces the need for additional infrastructure. It incorporates electric motors on each side of the fuselage plus a thermal engine which acts as a range extender. VoltAero states that the Cassio 330 uses all-electric propulsion for taxi, takeoff and initial flight phases, with the thermal engine recharging the onboard batteries during cruise flight.
It’s unclear when the first 15 units will be delivered, but their use case is clear as they will be used for training professional pilots on electric hybrid aircraft. Tn Sri Halim Mohammed, Founding Director of the Halim Mazmin Group stated: “The Halim Mazmin Group of companies share a common vision with VoltAero of applying innovation and excellence while adapting to the fast-changing business environment today, and tomorrow. By bringing the Cassio 330 into the HM Aerospace aircraft fleet, we will be utilizing airplanes that are advanced and highly eco-efficient to train the next generation of professional pilots.”
Jean Botti, CEO & CTO of VoltAero, added: “VoltAero looks forward to our long-term relationship with HM Aerospace and the Halim Mazmin Group as we join together in introducing – and supporting – a new era of aviation training with the Cassio 330.”
The agreement brings VoltAero’s total order backlog up to 280 aircraft from customers “focused on regional air transportation, air mobility and business aviation”.
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