The Toulouse aircraft manufacturer Aura Aero announced, Tuesday, December 19, that it had won an order for fifty examples of its hybrid electric aircraft called ERA (for Electric Regional Aircraft) and one hundred additional options for this small aircraft intended for regional passenger and passenger transport. goods from JSX, an American airline based in Dallas (Texas). Equipped with eight electric motors attached to a high wing and batteries, this nineteen-seater aircraft – available in several versions (cargo, passenger, military) – is capable of taking off on small runways of 800 meters and traveling, with a range of one to two hours, up to 1,200 kilometers. ERA has a total of 500 order intentions with a total value estimated at more than 7 billion euros.
“We’re changing scale”observes, satisfied, Jérémy Caussade, one of the three founders of Aura Aero and president of the company born in 2018. “These orders are proof that we don’t sell dreams. We are well advanced and positioned on the low-carbon aircraft market “, he assures, shooting, in passing, an arrow aimed at his competitors. Because, in the small green aircraft sector, Aura Aero is not moving forward alone. Other start-ups, often based in Toulouse, also plan to manufacture their machines. In the meantime, they are engaged in a communication battle, using press releases, to demonstrate the viability of their concept. “Our industry is serious and we are pragmatic in what needs to be done”insists Jérémy Caussade.
A cooperation agreement was also concluded in November between the Toulouse manufacturer and Republic Airlines, a North American airline which operates for American Eagle, Delta Connection and United Express, relating to several examples of ERA, the number of which is has not been revealed.
These two intentions allow Aura Aero to launch on American soil. “It’s a start to anchoring yourself locally”, says the boss, a former employee of Airbus and Airbus Helicopters. The aircraft manufacturer, which founded an office in 2022, Aura Aero Inc, whose premises are located in Daytona Beach, Florida, plans to recruit around ten employees in early 2024. “We are looking for industrial premises and, to achieve this, we are putting States into competition. We compare their aid, their employment areas… »he specifies.
Flight of the first prototype in 2026
However, on the site of the former Francazal military base, at the gates of Toulouse, under the 10 meters height of military hangar 7 of 6,000 square meters, the HM7, entirely reserved for industrial production, no trace of ERA. For the moment, only the wooden template of the fuselage is mounted in a room of another hangar, the HB2, installed at the other end of the aerial platform. Because the flight of the first prototype is expected by 2026, the first deliveries for the end of 2028.
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