All EV Canada used the Ford F-150 Lightning to pull a glider for liftoff last week to promote the capability of an electric vehicle and how it integrates into zero emission transportation.
All EV Canada, which began in 2019 in Atlantic Canada and was acquired by Steele Auto Group in July 2021, conducted the promotion on October 27 at Debert Airfield in Nova Scotia.
David Giles, one of ALL EV Canada’s original founders, said the company is trying to find unique ways of promoting EV adoption and getting people excited about it. To create a totally zero emission flight, the battery was drained and charged with solar energy.
“We know that electric vehicles emit no emissions and a glider represents the same thing in the air, so our whole plan was to power the truck by solar because in Nova Scotia a portion of our electricity is generated by coal,” said Giles. “Traditionally the gliders are pulled up by gas-powered or diesel vehicles or other airplanes. The Lightning has a tremendous amount of power and torque so that it was equally able to pull up the glider up with no problem.”
He said the Lightning was used because it has a 9,600-watt inverter on it and has outlets to power other things.
After doing three safety flights using a gas-powered vehicle to meet aeronautical regulations for passenger travel, the experiment with the Lightning began, which turned into the first zero emission flight done in Nova Scotia with an EV pulling a glider down a runway of about 5,000 feet (1,524 metres).
“Electric vehicles have the capability and power to do these types of things,” said Giles. “For pulling a glider up you’d think you would need a big truck and a big engine and stuff like that, where now we’re using a half-ton pickup truck pulling a glider.”
Multiple flights were done in front of interested onlookers that included members of the local EV association and media, who took turns seated in the glider. There was enough energy from the truck to cook food.
