Michael Lukowski is a doctor — an OB-GYN to be exact. But he is more than your average doctor helping deliver babies. He is also a pilot, helping to save lives of many by making deliveries of blood and vital organs to hospitals all across the country.
“In my whole flying career, I've been to every state in the union, including Alaska,” said Lukowski, who has been a licensed pilot since 1987. “The only state I haven’t gone to, either private or commercial, is Hawaii.”
Lukowski, 76, is the CEO of the University Air Center, which provides private and charter flight services and sits right next to Gainesville Regional Airport, or GNV. There, he has flown and directed thousands of organ and blood transfer flights for organizations including Shands Hospital at the University of Florida and the LifeSouth Community Blood Centers.
In September, GNV announced partnership that could make this experience much different, maybe in the next couple of years. BETA Technologies, an electric aerospace company based in Vermont, installed an electric charging station at GNV that can charge electric aviation vehicles.
“BETA had contacted us about joining their network,” said Allan Penksa, the CEO of GNV. “They were planning a network of charging stations in Florida and thought that we would be a good location. We were pleased to have it here in Gainesville and so we worked with the University Air Center to get it built.”
Studies have shown that electric airplanes can have a positive effect on the environment. According to one study out of Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden, an electric airplane can cut climate impacts by up to 60% when powered by green energy.
Gainesville Regional has become one of the first airports in Florida to install these charging stations. Other airports include Bob Sikes Airport and Duke Field in Crestview and Tallahassee International Airport.
GNV’s charging station was installed next to the University Air Center. It’s about as tall as a standard refrigerator and has two charging plugs. According to BETA Technologies, the station is compatible with any electric aircraft, not just those built by their company. It also has the capability to charge ground vehicles.
BETA says it is being strategic when picking its locations. For Gainesville, it says there are a lot of opportunities for shipping cargo, whether that is for medical needs or equipment after a natural disaster hits.
“We really think about cargo logistics and military medical as some of the primary use cases on Day One for electric aircraft,” said Nate Ward, the charging network development lead at BETA Technologies. “When you look at being able to support something as important as say a disaster readiness planning effort and moving vaccines, medical equipment or personnel to position them, this network was sort of built with that in mind.”
For the Gainesville area, this could have major impacts, especially with daily medical operations to transfer blood and organs to and from Gainesville Regional Airport.
“It's going to deliver faster, more efficient transportation of medical supplies and emergency services,” Ward said. “It's going to get us into harder to reach geographies at lower costs.”
Around 1,500 organ and blood transfer flights take off per year from the University Air Center, according to Lukowski.
But it’s not just those currently in the aviation industry who are thinking about electric flight. New and future pilots are already taking notice.
“A lot of them are really talking about it because they're excited about the possibilities,” said Pam Landis, the manager for the University Air Center Flight School. “I know it is something that's coming in the future, and I think it's just going to make such a big difference for all of us.”
Lukowski said he sees how electric planes can be beneficial to the industry and the earth. However, he has his reservations, especially when it comes to its heavy batteries. He says medical missions require planes to fly long distances, sometimes up to 1,000 miles. But for an electric plane, he anticipates it cannot go more than 300 miles before it needs another charge, keeping in mind the weight of the battery, personnel and cargo.
“Sometimes we have to go to 45,000 feet to get over weather,” Lukowski said. “Electric airplanes, 10,000 is about maximum operating altitude. So the limitations of that platform as it stands now, don't make it a factor for organ transplant.”
BETA Technologies are aware that some people, like Lukowski, are skeptical.
“The clear piece that concerns folks is the novelty,” Ward said. “People are not used to, for the most part, even being in an electric car, let alone an electric plane. We are out to prove that this is safe, this is reliable and this is something that, ultimately, is going to make a huge impact on people's lives and in ways that they probably aren't even thinking about today.”
BETA Technologies has two airplane models close to being certified to be sold on the open market.
The first is a CTOL, or a conventional takeoff and landing aircraft. This plane takes off and lands on an airport’s runway just like any standard airplane would. The other is a VTOL, or a vertical takeoff and landing aircraft. This takes off just like a helicopter would.
“They're both the same size,” Ward said, “so they'll carry a pilot and five passengers or a pilot and three full size cargo pallets.”
Ward says BETA Technologies has partnered with major companies that are interested in implementing the aircraft into their fleets, like UPS, Blade Urban Air Mobility and LCI Corporation.
But that will not happen just yet until these planes get certified. According to BETA Technologies, they expect the CTOL to enter service next year and the VTOL in 2026.