Electric Planes Approved for Pilot Training in Canada
Electric planes are about to be approved for flight training in Canada. This major milestone in Canadian aviation history comes into force on 11 July 2025 when revisions to the Canadian Aviation Regulations and Standards (CARS) will permit electric planes to be used for pilot training. It marks the beginning of an electric era where low carbon electricity enables flight schools to offer pilot training with lower emissions, an important sustainability step for the carbon intensive aviation industry.
The Waterloo Institute for Sustainable Aeronautics (WISA) has participated in a Transport Canada pilot project with flight school partners Waterloo Wellington Flight Centre (WWFC) and Sealand Flight to “assess the suitability of electrically powered aircraft in a flight training environment”.
Overall, initial evaluations have been positive. Areas of potential risk were identified, such as limited battery endurance, and the CARS have been revised to ensure that flight training programs identify the risks and include mitigation measures, such as setting minimum battery charge levels at the end of a flight. Examples of the changes to CARS are shared below.
The WISA partnership with WWFC and Sealand has generated valuable data and flight school experience. To date, over 400 Canadian electric aviation flights have been flown since the first e-plane arrived in October 2022. The program started with ground runs to demonstrate consistent discharge rates, to document the impact of power settings on remaining time to fly, to measure endurance sensitivity to temperature, and to document standard profiles. Local flights were then used to verify pilot operating handbook (POH) measures of the number of circuits per training flight, state of charge (SOC) decline per climb or circuit, and general suitability for circuit training. An appropriate training area was identified nearby and upper air exercises like turns, stalls and emergency procedures were trialed. Short cross-country flights were then added with a charger installed at Brantford so that the e-plane could recharge at another airport and then return to the home airport.
The journey that began with a single e-plane at Waterloo has expanded with a second e-plane at Waterloo and a third e-plane at Sealand Flight in Campbell River, BC. On July 11 the door will be opened for other flight schools to introduce electric flight training. Transport Canada will continue to monitor e-plane experience at flight schools to see if further changes to the CARS are required.
The setting of standards for flight schools to use e-planes is an important step in making electric aviation a reality in Canada.
Another important step toward electric aviation is the certification of particular aircraft types. The first e-plane to gain type certification in Canada is expected to be the Pipistrel Velis Electro. It is the plane used for the flights at both Waterloo and Campbell River. In addition to monitoring the flight school project, Transport Canada has been engaged with the manufacturer Pipistrel and the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) who certified the aircraft in 2020. It is hoped that Transport Canada’s certification decision will be reached in the next few months so that Canadian flight schools will have an e-plane that can be used under the new electric flight provisions of the CARS.
In addition to the Pipistrel Velis Electro, several companies have e-planes under development that could be used for flight training. It will be exciting to watch which ones proceed beyond prototype to the manufacturing stage and seek certification in Canada. The industry promises lower emissions, quieter flights and lower operating costs.
Aviation students eagerly await the arrival and evolution of the new electric flight training industry. Now that it is permitted under the CARS, it will be interesting to see how quickly e-planes are added to the fleet!
Examples of the additions to the CARS are:
425.12 Flight Training Program Approval
Electrically powered aircraft used for flight training toward the Recreation Pilot Permit or Private Pilot license shall be operated in accordance with a Transport Canada approved flight training program.
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425.14 Flight Training Program Requirements
(1) Flight training that is conducted using an electrically powered aircraft shall have a flight training program that contains:
(a) A list of aerodromes and/or airports where flight training can take place;
(b) A description of the training exercises that are specific to electrically powered aircraft; and
(c) A description of the risks associated with the limited endurance of electrically powered aircraft and the measures established to mitigate those risks. The mitigation measures must include:
i. Ground school modules specific to each electrically powered aircraft type operated;
ii. Appropriate training areas;
iii. A designated training flight profile for each air exercise;
iv. The establishment of suitable preflight planning procedures; and
v. Minimum battery charge levels at termination of a flight.
