how it works
A flight with Magpie Aerotowing
Without Magpie Aerotowing, a zero-emission aircraft simply couldn’t carry a full load of passengers on a flight like San Francisco to Seattle.
Magpie Aerotowing is the first zero-emission solution for flights 1,000 miles and beyond. Since batteries and hydrogen aren’t energy-dense dense enough to power electric aircraft for long flights, we use a network of Tow Aircraft to bring more energy to them in the sky.
Without Magpie Aerotowing, a zero-emission aircraft simply couldn’t carry a full load of passengers on a flight like San Francisco to Seattle.
Magpie Aerotowing enables zero-emission aircraft to serve over 80% of the world's top 100 routes. Tow Aircraft will be based at rural airports and only a few of these bases are needed to serve a wide network of flights.
We believe in getting into the sky as early and often as possible. We recently put our automated aerotowing technology to the test on crewed flights, demonstrating how to easily and safely connect two planes in the sky.
Magpie Aerotowing builds from established safety procedures and regulatory precedents in glider towing and military aerial refueling. Our technology handles the connection between two aircraft autonomously, only requiring the pilots to monitor ongoing procedures. The two aircraft also fly with a large separation and the Tow Aircraft flies slightly lower for better handling in icing and other inclement conditions. All in all, aerotowing is a much simpler and safer procedure than in-flight charging.
Magpie is a program of record with the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA); we are collaborating to develop our path to certification.
If the range limitations weren't an issue, battery-electric aircraft would be an obvious bet. Batteries have gotten 97% cheaper over the past three decades, a trend that is only going to continue.
Electric aircraft are also by far the most efficient sustainable aviation technology. That efficiency is important when considering the vast amounts of renewables we have to allocate across all sectors in the future.
While the Magpie approach is novel, it stems from a very pragmatic root: how can we enable electric aircraft to tackle the bulk of aviation emissions with current technology and regulatory precedents?
Even with the additional tow aircraft, the Magpie approach is cost-competitive. It allows airlines to operate large electric aircraft, which can save significantly on their highest costs: fuel and maintenance. These savings approximately balance out the additional cost of towing. Towing is kept cheap through simple tow aircraft, and operation from secondary airports, among other factors.
This is in line with industry predictions that battery-electric aircraft will be substantially cheaper than sustainable aviation fuel (“SAF”) or hydrogen-powered aircraft.
Magpie Aerotowing can significantly boost the performance of electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft (eVTOLs) under development. Aerotowing can extend the range of eVTOLs and also reduces the amount of heavy batteries they need to carry for their flight; this can almost double the capacity available for passengers and cargo. In addition, aerotowing can increase the speed and utilization of eVTOLs helping to drastically improve their operating economics.
