Electric Dragonfly enters new phase with full system testing

"Hoping for take off in the summer of 2023"
For more than a year, the individual components of the electric device have been tested at the Inholland facilities in Delft. Now that the rest of the aircraft has been built around it, we can continue with full system testing. Jesse Kluijfhout, licensed aircraft maintenance engineer, is positive: “The first taxi tests at Teuge are promising. You can tell that there's a lot of attention and knowledge involved.”  Fourth-year student Bob Bornkamp, responsible for all wiring and switching systems, is also enthusiastic: “Everything works! Now we have to collect as much data as possible and make small adjustments until we are sure that we meet all standards. Then comes the high-speed taxiing and hopefully we'll be ready for take off in the summer of 2023.” 

Sustainability is the future 
The importance of the Dragonfly is linked to the major sustainability challenges facing the aviation sector. “Whilst at the same time we must understand and appreciate that continuing to fly in the way to which we have become accustomed is unsustainable in the long run,” Arnold Koetje explains. “If the industry is to continue to exist, we need to look for new solutions. Especially in general aviation, there are many opportunities for electrification and the technology we are developing here can be seen on a large scale in ten or twenty years' time. As a university of Applied sciences, we are taking a first step with this project; we are gaining important experience so that we know which educational modules we need to develop in order to be able to support a sustainable future.”

Teuge Airport is the ideal location for this. “We are the epicentre for electric flying in General Aviation,” according to airport director Matthijs de Haan. "The Dragonfly fits in perfectly with our ambitions in terms of innovation, education and aviation-related activities, and I hope that together we will set the industry in motion.”