Ampaire Inc. and the Utah Department of Transportation have conducted a hybrid-electric demonstration flight along Utah’s I-15 corridor to test future cargo service.
An initial flight using Ampaire’s EEL took place on 3 August between Long Beach to Salt Lake City, a route covering approximately 648 miles over 4 hours 18 minutes on a single battery charge. On 6 August, the EEL flew between Salt Lake City International Airport and Cedar City Regional Airport, covering approximately 240 miles in 1 hour and 45 minutes, followed by the aircraft’s scheduled return from Cedar City to Long Beach.
The EEL is a hybrid-electric Cessna 337 Skymaster testbed, with electric propulsion driving the nose propeller and combustion propulsion driving the aft propeller. Ampaire and its partners plan to use the EEL for early operational learning and introduce the Eco Caravan in subsequent programme phases. The Eco Caravan is Ampaire’s hybrid-electric upgrade for the Cessna Grand Caravan and the company’s planned first commercial aircraft product. Its AMP-H570
hybrid-electric propulsion system is designed to self-charge in flight and integrate into existing aviation
operations without dependence on ground charging.
The 6 August flight is part of the Federal Aviation Administration’s eVTOL Integration Pilot Program (eIPP) and Utah’s new uFLY initiative. The uFLY programme will evaluate operational readiness, infrastructure needs, route performance and practical use cases for advanced aircraft across a multi-state operating environment.
The Utah Department of Transportation is one of eight selected projects across 26 states to participate in the eIPP. The FAA will use what it learns from these demonstrations to identify gaps, improve procedures and support the safe integration of advanced air mobility into US airspace.
Additional flight tests are planned in Utah and other states for the remainder of 2026.
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