Envirotech Vehicles (EVT) has chosen NBAA’s Schedulers and Dispatchers Conference (SDC) this week in Nashville, Tennessee, as the venue for the public debut of its all-electric refueler. The just-completed first production model of the 900-gallon capacity avgas truck is being displayed this week at SDC, marking not only the first time an all-electric refueler is being displayed on the SDC show floor but also for any first-production model to be on display there.
Arkansas-based Envirotech, which manufactures a range of electric commercial vehicle chassis, partnered with aviation equipment manufacturer Garsite, which outfits the refuelers. The first of which, on display at the Music City Center, is slated for delivery to Atlantic Aviation.
The vehicle requires no special infrastructure for charging, and according to Mike McCarthy, Garsite’s director of customer technical support, the vehicle’s no-maintenance lithium iron phosphate batteries will provide endurance for a full day’s fueling and then still drive 50 miles before recharging.
The refueler’s pump is rated for a 20-gallon-per-minute flow capacity, and while that is satisfactory for the smaller volumes typical in avgas fuelings, Garsite is currently working on integrating the higher capacity battery and pump that would be needed for jet-A fueling use.
Sue Emry, EVT’s executive v-p, told AIN that her company will provide a larger electric vehicle frame later this year to Garsite, which expects to complete it as a 5,000-gallon jet-A refueler.
Source: ainonline.com
