It’s only when you hear another plane take off that you realize how quiet an electric plane is.

With just one in New Zealand, the Pipistrel Alpha Electro plane’s visit to Kāpiti Districts Aero Club last week came at an important time for both the club and the aviation industry.

With the future of the Kāpiti Coast Airport in the air and the recent report of the Climate Change Commission on its 2022-2025 emissions reduction plan, including some electrification of short-haul domestic air travel On the demo route from 2030, the visit is expected to help kick off the electric aviation revolution in New Zealand.

The Pipistrel Alpha Electro Rerenga Hiko (“Flying Electric”) plane arrived disassembled in Kāpiti on Friday June 11 and was fully booked by members of the flying club around the lower North Island and public passenger flights from its arrival.

At a Future of Flying event last Friday, Kāpiti Districts Aero Club President Tony Quayle said: “Although this is the end of the plane’s first test at Kāpiti, it is only the beginning of electric aviation locally.

“It has been booked and done 5pm so far which is very heavy use for a week, especially with some weather disturbances.

“There has been tremendous interest in the plane.”

Brought to New Zealand by the start-up ElectricAir from Christchurch, the Pipistrel Alpha Electro is a two-seater battery-powered electric aircraft.

Designed as a trainer aircraft, lithium batteries last up to 90 minutes and can be recharged in less than an hour.

With no gasoline required and the only liquid in the plane being engine coolant, the plane costs just $ 75 an hour to run.

“We are able to operate this aircraft for $ 75 an hour, while a Cessna 152, our standard trainer, costs $ 200 an hour.

“There is a dramatic difference in the cost of piloting this aircraft.”

Brought to New Zealand by ElectricAir owner Gary Freedman after discovering that he couldn’t reconcile driving an electric car with flying in a gasoline-powered plane, Gary found that interest in the plane was huge.

With Aotearoa having one of the world’s highest per capita short-haul flight rates and goals to achieve a 100% renewable electricity grid, ElectricAir takes electric aviation a given for New Zealand.

“It’s huge, the interest in the plane.

“About 14% of our emissions come from aviation and 7% of these come from short-haul aviation.

“We have to put the pressure on and as you can see from the government’s climate change report, New Zealand wants to start adopting electric planes by 2030.”

Under the pretext of a family vacation, Gary traveled to Slovakia to see an electric plane manufactured by the Slovenian aviation company Pipstrel.

“I had a robbery in it and I was completely addicted. And now it’s here.”

Speaking to flying club members, aviation enthusiasts, local hapu and MPs in the presence of the Mayor of Kāpiti and Director of the Civil Aviation Authority Keith Manch, Gary shared his story, in the aim to inspire others to get on board.

“We can’t always be the nation that waits for the next thing.

“With this plane we did it and proved this week that there is confidence in the plane, it has made about 30 flights so far.”

Besides being cheaper and better for the environment, you can’t forget how quiet the plane is.

“It’s 70 percent quieter than normal planes,” Gary said.

“He’s a very good neighbor.

Ōtaki MP Terisa Ngobi said: “To have something like this is amazing, especially since we want to be able to reduce our carbon emissions in the transport sector from the 47% where they are now.

“This is a great opportunity for us to see what it might look like in Kāpiti, and to see the options there.

“It’s really good for Kāpiti to see this and lead the way on this path.”

Tony has said that while the club would like to buy a plane, ideally two, they have to wait to find out about their future first.

Costing around $ 220,000, roughly the same amount as a new gasoline-powered plane, Tony said the club would consider the plane as a potential option to replace its trainer plane, if the future of the Kāpiti airport was insured.

“I can absolutely see a future where the club could use the Alpha Electro as their primary training aircraft.

“However, we are not in a position to make this kind of investment until the future of the airport is more certain.”

He also said the club believes in the responsibility of the aviation industry to explore sustainable flight options, with Electric Air’s visit being a key step in a sustainability strategy the club launched more than a year ago. two years.

Kāpiti Mayor K Gurunathan said: “I hope you can see what the potential is here to be part of a green aviation revolution.

“I ask you to have an open mind and look at what is on offer – that Kāpiti be part of a national revolution, a world revolution and a revolution that must change the factors of consumption and make the world a much more sustainable place. “