Bristow Norway has capped a busy month of test flights with the Beta Technologies Alia CX300, on 4 September performing the first simulated cargo mission between Stavanger and Bergen using the all-electric aircraft.
Having received the CX300 (N214BT) in early August following its multi-leg European tour – taking in stops in six different countries and including involvement in a Paris air show performance – Bristow has been flying the aircraft on an almost daily basis.
In fact, tracking data recorded by FlightAware shows the CX300 has racked up 24 flights since Bristow began the test flights on 8 August.
Although the majority have been out-and-back flights from its Sola airport base, there have also been visits to Arendal, Haugesund, Kristiansand, and Stord.
To date, the longest sortie was a 1h 5min Sola-Sola flight on 19 August, the data shows.
While the previous flights have helped Bristow and its pilots familiarise themselves with the new type, the 50min flight to Bergen on 4 September marks an important milestone for the aircraft and operator, which are involved in a Norwegian initiative to create an international test arena for zero- and low-emission aviation.
Working in tandem with the Norwegian civil aviation regulator and airport operator Avinor, the test arena is designed to evaluate use cases and routes for green aviation in the Nordic region.
Bristow intends to fly regularly between the two airports in western Norway as part of the test arena programme which runs until January next year. The operator has bases at both sites, serving the offshore oil and gas industry with a fleet of helicopters.
“Stavanger to Bergen is a highly used route in today’s traditional flight operations for various missions,” says Dave Stepanek, Bristow’s chief transformation officer.
“This route makes up the cornerstone of this test arena and simulating a cargo mission on the full route was an important, and symbolic, first step in what will be several months of gathering critical data that will be useful in ushering in the next era of flight operations.”
Bristow plans a three-phase flight-test programme, with regular operations between Stavanger and Bergen marking the second step. In phase three, the aircraft will operate under instrument flight rules.
