WISA Blog Posts

Years

Aviation students are increasingly seeking ways to pursue their passion without the emissions associated with conventional flight training. Electric planes (e-planes) are being proposed as a solution, but how big of a reduction can they achieve?

My immersion into aviation led me to join the Collaborative Aeronautics Program (CAP), where I became part of the first cohort of students learning about the fundamentals of aviation. Through the CAP, I not only gained a solid understanding of aviation systems but also learned the importance of collaboration within the field.

Pramoth's personal journey being the first to receive the ‘International Aviation Sustainability Certification.

July brought record high temperatures to many parts of Canada. Even the normally cool Vancouver Island had six days in a row above 30°C at the Campbell River airport (CYBL), including a new record of 33.4°C on July 8th.Did these hot temperatures affect the performance of the e-plane based there? Did battery temperatures rise unexpectedly?

Flight schools earn revenue when planes are flying, so an important question is how many hours can they expect an e-plane to fly in a day?Future batteries and future e-planes offer bigger promises, but let’s look at the world’s only type of certified electric trainer on the market today, the Pipistrel Velis Electro with its second-generation battery.

When an electric plane is designed for pilot training, one of the first questions is “Can you complete the standard lessons in the e-plane?”.

Circuit training is one of the core activities in learning to become a pilot. Pilots need to learn the skills to take-off, fly a standard circuit pattern, and land safely. Last year, we reported completing 5-7 circuits in a typical flight in the Velis Electro before landing with a reserve of at least 30% SOC, State of Charge, in the battery (equivalent to how much fuel remains in the tank).

Collaborative Aeronautics Program (CAP) students who got to tour the Waterloo Air Traffic Control (ATC) tower.

The clouds parted on a rainy day on Vancouver Island so that Edwin, a 15 year old high school student, could pay $20 to have his first flight lesson. The unique part of the introductory flight was that the plane was fully powered by batteries. This marks the beginning of ‘commercial’ electric aviation in Canada.

The student was selected based on his essay: Why I want to pilot an electric plane.

The Pipistrel Velis Electro comes with a charger designed for the European 400-volt electrical system. This means that a special transformer needs to be installed at any North American airport where the Velis is to charge. (Note: Pipistrel is developing an adapter which will allow the Velis to be charged using CCS chargers, which will remove this hurdle. CCS is one of the most widely used electric vehicle charging standards.)

A woman standing in front of the Pipistrel

The electric plane fleet expanded across the country in 2024. Canada’s first Pipistrel Velis Electro was flown by Waterloo Institute for Sustainable Aeronautics (WISA) researchers and Waterloo Wellington Flight Centre (WWFC) personnel in 2023. Waterloo has added a second Velis Electro for 2024 (with financial support from the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario) and a third Velis Electro was purchased by Sealand Aviation on Vancouver Island (with financial support from Clean BC)

A student in the Collaborative Aeronautics Program reflects on a recent visit to the NRC Flight Research Laboratory in Ottawa.

Cap Students at the University of Waterloo visited the National Research Council Flight Research Laboratory in Ottawa. Where they learned about research that is advancing sustainability in aerospace.

University of Waterloo student shares how they didn't have to choose between geography and aviation because the school offers a combined program that includes both.

Geography & Aviation student at the University of Waterloo gives their tips on how to have a successful first year in the aviation program.

A decade ago, Ethan caught the aviation bug, and now he's in Geography and Aviation at the University of Waterloo. His experience has been enriched with top-tier courses and flight training.

Through the collaboration of many disciplines and help from multiple faculties, Waterloo aviation students were able to use their skills in Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to quantify the impacts of flight operations at our local airport on surrounding communities.

Electric aviation offers a solution to airport noise by replacing the fossil fuel engine with a quiet electric motor. Of course, there is still noise from the propeller, so how big is the reduction in noise by changing to electric power?

2023

Selina describes her experience as a Velis Electro research assistant

Preksha from ASAP talks about her experience representing WISA and Waterloo's aviation programs.

Frosty mornings and electric aircraft performance: How are e-plane flight and charge times impacted? We highlight some of our findings from the first cool days.

Samuel from the Aviation Student Ambassador Program (ASAP) explains the importance of support and inspiration to aspiring aviators, along with his desire to bring this positive energy to the community.

Landing and taking off are two of the most important skills for pilots to learn and perfect. As electric planes target the flight school training market, one important question is, how well do e-planes (and their batteries) support this type of training?

WISA researcher Paul Parker from Waterloo’s Faculty of Environment demonstrated his skill and fascination with solar powered flight by placing third at the Canadian National Gliding Championships, held July 26 through August 4 at the Southern Ontario Soaring Association (SOSA) airfield in Rockton, Ontario.

It is no secret that the aviation industry is beginning to face a massive shortage of pilots. Professionals, industry leaders, and news organisations all agree. It is also no secret that aviation is a male-dominated industry and female pilots make up only 6% of the pilot workforce. As pilot supply is now a global challenge, this issue creates a unique opportunity where recruiting women and other underrepresented groups to the cockpit is an important part of the solution, giving the next generation an incredible opportunity to change the dynamic and traditional culture within the industry.

Greetings, fellow aviation enthusiasts, prospective students, and industry partners! Today, I want to share my incredible experience working on safety and sustainability projects with industry partners and how it has shaped my perspective as an undergraduate aviation student. So grab your aviator shades, buckle up, and let's dive right in!

Think about the first time you were at a brand-new airport as a solo student. Were you nervous or overwhelmed? If you’re not a pilot, imagine being in a new place for the first time, a place where it is vital to do everything perfectly. Would you feel stressed out? As student pilots, we’ve all had similar experiences, arriving at an airport having no idea where to park, get fuel or get your much desired logbook stamp. To support our peers and avoid these issues in the future, a group of student pilots are creating a new initiative.

With small e-planes aiming for the pilot training market, a key question is how many times can you take-off, fly a standard circuit, and land before you have to recharge? Of course, batteries will improve in the future, but what is practical with today’s technology?

Overheating and fire risk are two important concerns regarding electric aviation technology. Aircraft systems are designed with safety features and warning systems in mind to address these risks. So, what happens when you run charge/discharge cycles on a hot afternoon?

When I signed up to volunteer at this year’s Girls Can Fly to represent the University of Waterloo, I had no idea what to expect, and simply put I was blown away. Volunteering, and being able to represent the university was a great honour. Entertaining the children who attended the event, by creating a tornado in a bottle, and answering questions regarding the aviation program was all very enjoyable.

Monday, May 16th marked a successful first day of e-plane ground runs for the Pipistrel Velis Electro. The Velis team, consisting of Kyra, Tyler, Gabriel and Dr. Paul Parker, performed several ground runs to verify the performance of our brand new electric aircraft.

The e-plane team of three UW Aviation students (Gabriel, Kyra and Tyler), WISA researcher Paul Parker, and WWFC staff continued measuring the Pipistrel Velis Electro’s performance in a series of ground runs prior to flying the plane in the air.

Three UW aviation students joined WISA’s Paul Parker and the WWFC team to put the Pipistrel Velis Electro through its first set of Canadian ground runs. The goal was to measure how much mission time or training time is available in the e-plane under different power settings. Before flying the aircraft in the air, these ground runs will give pilots a good indication of how much time they can plan to use.

Innovative approaches for pilot training and assessment are urgently needed to meet aviation needs as the demand for pilots in Canada is projected to exceed training capacity by 2030. Technology such as eye tracking could be harnessed to add value to the currently used instruction methods to make pilot training more efficient in cost and time.

My thoughts and experience at WISA Talks: Drones in Science and Industry

I am in the last year of the Geography and Environmental Management in Geomatics program at Waterloo. I originally enrolled in the course GEOG 270- Knowledge Requirements of Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS) as my fun interesting elective. Through participating in the WISA Talks: Drones in Science and Industry session, it transformed my perspective of drones into something more than that: a potential career path.

My name is Aiden, a second-year Geography and Aviation student and a member to the Waterloo Warriors Varsity Track team and the University of Waterloo’s sports business association. It is an honour to share my aviation experiences with you, and I aim to inspire you to achieve dreams beyond your imagination and leave a lasting impact through your legacy.

As many upper-year aviation students complete their final study terms at the University of Waterloo, the transition from university to the aviation industry can be difficult and demanding. To ease this process, the University of Waterloo Aviation Society (UWAS) came together to create the first Professional Development Day specifically targeted for Waterloo aviation students.

Dr. Paul Parker, Associate Director of WISA and Professor Emeritus of the University of Waterloo, represents the environmental pillar at WISA—one of three that WISA is built upon.

A behind-the-scenes look at the first UWAS PD Day.

What should we name the first certified electric plane to come to Canada?

2022

In aviation, the plane gets all the attention and photo ops. However, it does not work alone. Chargers may be overlooked, but they are essential.

Before you can fly an electric plane, like the Pipistrel Velis Electro, you need a source of electricity that matches the input needs of the battery and e-plane system. It sounds simple to plug in, charge and go. However, when an industry is new, there are lots of questions and decisions to get started.

The Sustainable Aeronautics Summit at Waterloo Region International Airport heralded the call by leaders in industry, government, and academia to create innovative sustainable aeronautics futures on Wednesday, 5 October 2022.

Two days later, the University of Waterloo demonstrated its commitment toward the sustainable aviation goal with the arrival of the first Pipistrel Velis Electro in Canada. (Admittedly, the whole process has taken over two years with discussions, applications, rejections, revisions, selection and final refinements, so the two day period is primarily good luck based on many earlier actions.)

Catherine Conway is the CEO and Chief Flying Instructor at AV8 Aero in Australia. When an e-plane (the Pipistrel Alpha Electro) arrived at her home airport (Parafield, South Australia) she was ready, not only to fly, but also to inspect and maintain the Electro.

2021

The rapid evolution of electric propulsion systems creates an opportunity to cut emissions by replacing conventional engines with electric motors using low carbon electricity. This trend is starting with small planes and projected to grow rapidly over the next decade. To date, no e-planes have been certified in Canada. However, a smaller, ultralight e-plane, the Pipistrel Alpha Electro, is available and the first one imported into Canada has now accumulated 500 hours of flying time. Paul Parker, the Associate Director – Environment, WISA, went for a flight and asked the owner, James Douma, about his assessment of the new technology.

From electric planes, optimized routes, and social equity, the new Waterloo Institute of Sustainable Aeronautics is leading the charge for a cleaner, greener, durable air transport sector.

Years

2024, 2023, 2022, 2021