Saft continues to enable lower-cost power options for aircraft with the Saft 435CH6 ULM battery. The product design reduces airplane operational costs due to battery upkeep by extending the standard flight hour maintenance interval by more than nine times compared to previous options.
Per the Instructions for Continued Airworthiness, (ICA), the battery is approved to be operated for 1,800 hours in flight before requiring maintenance as a result of a testing program aboard WestJet Encore’s Bombardier Q400 NextGen fleet. Prior to this, the timeframe for battery standard operation was 200 hours.
The Bombardier Q400 NextGen is a turboprop aircraft that helps WestJet Encore and many other airlines bring affordable air travel to more people in more communities with smaller aircraft designed for maximum efficiency. The Saft 435CH6 design is a direct form-fit replacement for the legacy battery that is currently used on the aircraft. Globally, Bombardier has delivered 479 Q400 aircraft and another 521 are on order at this time.
The lightweight, high-energy battery is designed to endure the rigors of a long lifecycle in flight with a 24 V, 43 Ah design that serves as the primary power source for the aircraft, along with standby and auxiliary functions.
“Through reducing the amount of maintenance frequency, Saft is enabling OEMs to pass along significant cost savings to their customers worldwide.” said John Adeimy, Vice President of Sales and Marketing for the Industrial Battery Group in North America. “Installing our new 435CH6 ULM Battery in next generation aircraft and participating in retrofit programs opens large market potentials to Saft’s aviation business.”
