VoltAero Brings Cassio 330 Full-Sized Mockup To Oshkosh, Details Product Roadmap

OSHKOSH—VoltAero is displaying a full-size mockup of its Cassio 330, the hybrid-electric aircraft that it plans to fly for the first time by the end of this year, for the first time at AirVenture.

The first prototype will fly under the power of a modified Kawasaki Ninja H2R four-cylinder motorcycle engine, VoltAero CEO and Chief Technical Officer Jean Botti said at AirVenture 2023. Previously the company said the second prototype would have electric power only and the third would be a hybrid. The mockup is equipped with Avidyne customized avionics that VoltAero plans to use in the development aircraft and later in production. The first aircraft is now being built in France.

Botti said the company plans to certify the five-passenger Cassio 330, which features a nose-mounted canard and a pusher propeller that will be powered by the rear-mounted Ninja H2R engine. Later VoltAero will add the batteries and charging system that will allow aircraft to take off on electric power and fly missions of less than 100 mi. For longer flights the gasoline-powered engine will run in cruise to recharge the batteries. It also could be used to power the aircraft in case of failure with the electric propulsion system. The combined power of the gas and electric systems will be 330 kW (440 hp.). Botti said the aircraft’s batteries could be recharged on the ground by plugging into a standard 110-volt outlet.

The company anticipates getting certification by the end of 2024.

The clean-sheet design 330 will be 50% more efficient than any comparably sized aircraft, Botti said.

Avidyne CEO and founder Dan Schwinn said while the basic technology of the avionics suite relies on technology the company has already developed, some of the applications for the 330 are unique because of the aircraft’s hybrid design. Pilots will have unique information needs due to this. But the cockpit will leverage Avidyne’s new-generation Quantum 14-in. displays in a dual primary flight display/multifunction display configuration.

VoltAero has a timeline of iterative versions and improvements that extends out to 2035.

Eventually the company plans to replace gasoline with liquid hydrogen (LH2) in order to make the aircraft more environmentally friendly, Botti said. The H2R will be modified to burn hydrogen. The LH2 fuel tank and associated hardware is about the size of a medium to large picnic cooler. The LH2 system will mount in the rear fuselage between the wing spars.

Approval of the LH2-burning engine is anticipated in 2035.

The Cassio 330 will carry up to five passengers. The company also plans growth versions of the aircraft:

—Cassio 480 with six seats and a hybrid propulsion power of 600 kW. This version will use a six-cylinder, 2.1-liter growth version of the H2R. Both engines were on display in VoltAero’s booth.

—Cassio 600 with a capacity of 10-12 people and a hybrid-electric propulsion system of 600 kW.

Botti says the company is also looking for manufacturing partners to fill the demand for aircraft in the U.S. and Asia.