Eviation's plane Alice successfully completed a trial flight in Washington State. Photo / Supplied
Eviation's plane Alice successfully completed a trial flight in Washington State. Photo / Supplied
OPINION
On Tuesday last week, I witnessed something very special: the first flight of an all-electric commercial passenger aeroplane.
The aircraft, named the Alice to conjure up the wonder of flight, took to the skies in Washington State in the US, many thousands of miles away from Hamilton, where Iwas born and raised.
Yet, this was every inch an innovation that was born in New Zealand, and that I hope will take a place in New Zealand's proud pioneering tradition.
Like every other New Zealander, I grew up on stories of our pioneers. Sir Edmund Hillary was the supreme demonstration of our capacity to take on big challenges with creative innovation and relentless commitment. Bruce McLaren's thrilling motorsport victories, the All Blacks' historic dominance of their sport and, more recently, our America's Cup yachting victories have also shown how far our ingenuity can take us.
Kiwis have pioneered everything from polar exploration and nuclear science to bungee jumping and filmmaking.
To that long list, we can now add the birth of electric flight, a groundbreaking technology that promises not just to make the global airline industry greener but to make it quieter, cheaper, more convenient and more enjoyable.
I believe that heritage matters. Where we come from shapes who we are. It gives us our values and ideals. This applies to companies just as much as it does to individuals.
The Alice is manufactured by a company called Eviation, in which I have owned a majority stake since 2019.
Eviation's plane Alice taking off on a trial flight in Washington State. Photo / Supplied
Electric flight is, for me, a generational calling. My Uncle George, known to his colleagues as Group Captain Watt, was an engineer and test pilot in the RAF during the Second World War.
His journey in aviation began at the University of Auckland, where he was elected the Captain of the Gliding Club. He began the war taking part in experiments to measure the effects of extreme G-force on the human body, passing out more than 100 times during these experiments – a level of courage and determination that would see him awarded the Air Force Cross by the United Kingdom.
Later, as Deputy Director of Special Projects for the British Air Ministry, he collaborated with the engineer Sir Frank Whittle on the invention of the jet engine. He was honoured with the Legion of Merit by the U.S. Government for this work, and his legacy is remembered today through the George Watt award, given out by the Royal New Zealand Air Force to one of its members who demonstrates "outstanding technical merit".
The invention of the jet engine was a milestone in the history of flight. If the Wright brothers introduced the first age of aviation with their Wright Flyer in 1903, then Sir Frank and my uncle introduced the second with the jet engine and the Eviation Alice has introduced the third, electric, age of aviation.
The story of the electric age involves another of my uncles, this time on my mother's side.
Richard Chandler and the Eviation aircraft, Alice. Photo / Supplied
Tony Guina dreamed of following in the footsteps of his fellow Croatiaborn inventor, Nikola Tesla, and dedicated his career to developing new forms of energy. He was the founder of Eviation's sister company, magniX, which developed the electric propulsion units that take the place of traditional engines on the Alice.
Today, in an industry dominated by giants, magniX is leading the field. Its electric propulsion units have now powered not just the Alice but an electric De Havilland Beaver, an electric Cessna Grand Caravan and an electric Robinson R44 helicopter. It was recently awarded a contract to partner with NASA in its Electric Powertrain Flight Demonstration programme.
Eviation is now the first company in the world to fly a commercially-focused passenger aeroplane designed from scratch around the needs of electric aviation.
In the David versus Goliath battle of aerospace innovation, our small teams, armed with passion and commitment, have triumphed over large multinationals with limitless budgets.
How have they done this? Heritage and identity have played a crucial part. Great achievements are born from big dreams, and big dreams are inspired by the stories of ancestors who overcame challenges to climb their mountains and write their names in the history books.
This fearless, innovative mindset has given my innovation teams a keen competitive edge and an ability to see opportunities where others see only difficulties. In common with many of the world's most successful businesses, they have managed to keep their founding identity alive through a strong corporate culture that values heritage and encourages its employees to give their all to writing the next great chapter in the company's story.
This belief that the impossible is possible when we dare to try and have the courage to stick at it is a defining Kiwi trait.
Richard Chandler. Photo / Tim Barker, NOI Pictures
It has led to New Zealanders conquering the world's tallest mountain, splitting the atom and leading the development of the jet age.
Auckland Grammar School played a significant role in Chandler family heritage, educating two generations – mine, and my father's. Its Latin motto "per angusta, ad augusta" means "through difficulties to honours" or "by persevering through trials, one can achieve greatness".
The motto has been a source of encouragement on a business journey that was born in New Zealand but has taken me to all corners of the world.
I can't help wondering what my Uncle George, and the rest of the Auckland University Gliding Club, would have made of it.
• Richard F. Chandler is the founder and chairman of the Clermont Group, an international business group with companies in health care, financial services and electric aviation. He is also the founder of non-profit organisations the Chandler Foundation and the Chandler Institute of Governance.
