Avions Mauboussin has flown a subscale model of its planned Alérion M1h two-seat fixed-wing aircraft. The French start-up intends to develop a hybrid-electric version of the model before following up with a hydrogen-powered version.
The flight with a battery-electric M1h model happened on February 23 but was not reported by Avions Mauboussin until this week. The company is conducting tests at the Montbéliard-Courcelles airfield near its headquarters at Belfort in eastern France.
According to president David Gallezot, his team expects to have a hydrogen propulsion system ready for use by the end of this year. This is being developed in-house, as is the initial hybrid-electric propulsion system, which is called the Zéphyr.
The powerplant is based on a turbine engine because the company believes this is more compatible with the switch to hydrogen as a fuel source than a piston engine. It intends for the aircraft to be operated in so-called "flex-fuel" mode so that users could refuel with either gasoline or hydrogen, depending on which is more readily available. The plan is to maintain the serial hybrid propulsion option for early examples of the aircraft to support initial customers who may feel discouraged by difficulties in getting hydrogen fuel.
The propulsion system is dispersed, with the electric motor in the front, leaving space for hydrogen and/or conventional fuel tanks in the wider center section of the fuselage, and the batteries in the wings. Multiple firewalls separate these elements to ensure safety. The motor drives a pair of coaxial propellers installed on the wingtips.
Avions Mauboussin is also working on a five-passenger design called the Alcyon M3c that would be certified a couple of years later than the Alérion’s targeted service entry date of 2024. Both aircraft are expected to have short takeoff and landing capability, allowing them to access small airfields for applications that could include air taxi services and medical support, with an anticipated range of up to around 800 nmi (900 miles) and a cruise speed of 200 knots (230 mph).
Gallezot, who is an aeronautical engineer, founded the current iteration of Avions Mauboussin in 2013 as an homage to the original enterprise, which was founded in 1928 by famous French aircraft maker Pierre Mauboussin, who later developed the Fouga Magister jet trainer. The company’s core activity has been providing consultancy services, and this has generated cash flow to cover work on the new aircraft that started in 2016. The company also has experience supporting owners of vintage aircraft.
In 2021, the French government awarded further funding to Avions Mauboussin. It has also been seeking European Union support and backing from private investors for an approach that Gallezot describes as “the renaissance of modern aviation.”
