1. Sustainable Aviation and Evolution
By Joseph Oldham,
Director, CALSTART San Joaquin Valley Clean Transportation Center
510 W. Kearney Blvd., Suite 105
Fresno, CA 93706
Ph # (559)

2. Who is CALSTART?
25 year old non-profit focused on education and advocacy for clean transportation technology with over 180+ member companies.

3. Sustainable Aviation Project Goals
First deployment of production electric aircraft in flight training operations and,
First network of airports to support electric aircraft operations in the United States !
Lower cost of flight training to reduce cost barrier for people interested in aviation careers.
Train Next Generation Pilots in Next Generation Aircraft!

4. Project Overview
$1,071,348 in local Fresno County grant funding approved for the project.
Purchase four (4) Pipistrel Alpha Electro battery electric training aircraft plus chargers and deploy network of electric aircraft chargers at three (3) Fresno County regional airports and make (1) charger portable.
Project partners are City of Reedley, City of Mendota, CALSTART, New Vision Aviation.
$90,000 from grant funds for flight training assistance grants for low income youth.

5. Pipistrel Alpha Electro at KFCH After Delivery

6. Typical Flight Operations

7. Alpha Electro Features
Panel in flight
Electric motor and charge port
Lithium Ion Battery Pack

8. Performance & Emission Savings
1-0.8 hours of flight time per charge with healthy reserve at landing.
85-90 kts cruise speed at 22 kW power setting.
1,212 lb. gross weight.
835 lb. empty weight.
377 lb. payload.
1,300 ft./min. rate of climb (T/O power).
21 kWh battery capacity.
min. charge time using Pipistrel 15 kW charger.
Cost per flight for electricity = approx. $2.80
Reduce NOx by tons and CO2 by 92 tons annually.

9. Project Benefits
Pave the way for advanced electric thin-haul commuter aircraft and aerial sky transit vehicles.
Provide new career opportunities for youth and veterans.
Revitalize the City of Mendota and City of Reedley municipal airports.
Remove emissions and increase safety by eliminating aviation gasoline.
Showcase Fresno County as a center for innovation that will attract future investment and job creation.

10. First Flight March 23, 2018

11. Testing The Limits

12. Current Work
Complete installation of charger at Mendota and install first of two new hangars.
Complete 100 hrs of data collection to support petition for exemption to re-certify our four Alpha Electros to SLSA for flight training. Have logged over 70 hours to date.
Operating ground school under non-profit corporation, New Vision Aviation, that will include training on flying electric aircraft.
Working on acquiring a gas
aircraft to augment the Alphas.

13. Next Steps
Submit our petition for exemption once sufficient data is collected to support it.
Start testing the use of the portable charger idea with a goal to fly from Fresno to Sacramento using only two stops for charging in between.
Launch New Vision Aviation flight training operations using a gas aircraft initially and Alpha Electros later.

14. The Future Develop solar charging stations for aircraft
Provide charging for cars, buses, and aircraft at airports
Envision Solar DCFC with 90 kW of charging available and 250 kWh of storage in base.

15. Aircraft Chargers That Work Like Car Chargers

16. New Aircraft Coming Soon
CORA eVTOL - Kitty Hawk
Sun Flyer- Bye Aerospace
Two-Seat All-Electric Trainer
3.5 hour endurance
Estimated 48 kWh battery pack
Will need about a 40 kW rated charger to recharge in about 1 hour
Zunam Aero Hybrid Electric Thin Haul Airliner

17. NASA Outlook for Electric

18. CALSTART ZE Aviation Initiative
Build a coalition of interested and invested stakeholders to help define the needs for deploying Zero Emission aircraft.
Promote development of infrastructure to support Zero Emission aircraft.
Support policy at the local, State, and Federal level that fosters development of Zero Emission aviation technology and helps to revitalize regional airports as zero emission transportation hubs.
Develop and support demonstration projects that increase mobility while reducing environmental impacts.

19. Questions?
To follow progress on the project go to