From grass to less gas, Shoreline Aviation strides into the future, and it’s electric – Part 8
Back in 1987, when Keith Douglass and Ed Novack bought Shoreline Aviation (the fixed base operator of Marshfield Municipal Airport), the airport had a grass runway and a plane maintenance department. Keith had learned to fly there and owned a single prop. Ed ran maintenance.
The company quickly grew and became a Piper service center. It’s the only one in the northeastern United States. The nearest is in Ontario; next nearest is in Maryland. Shoreline also became the first Piper training center in the world.
Then in 1994, Shoreline got its first charter fleet Citation jet. More aircraft would follow.
“We knew we had to make some money to do what we needed to do at the airport,” Shoreline President Douglass told his rapt audience in October, there to celebrate Shoreline’s commissioning of the first and only electric aircraft charging station in Massachusetts (along with roadside chargers for ground vehicles). “Otherwise, we’d stay a sleepy airport with no one ever making any money and always staying behind the times.”
So, grow they did.
“We were the first TKS deicing service around here and second largest installer in the country,” Keith said that sunny day out on the ramp. “We became a Piper sales center and sold more airplanes in one year than all the distributors in New England combined. We sold 26 airplanes.”
Their mission? “We try to stay ahead, to be a shining star for the state and for the town.”
And staying ahead is what Shoreline has done again, in 2023.
ALIA 250 charges its batteries at Marshfield Municipal Airport. Photo courtesy of BETA Technologies
On October 13, about 75 invited guests and media joined the Shoreline team to celebrate the company’s big step into the future of aviation. Behind the lineup of speakers sat the all-electric ALIA 250, aviation pioneer BETA Technologies’ prototype conventional take off aircraft, expected to receive FAA certification. BETA also has a vertical takeoff version in testing. The ALIA connected to Shoreline’s high speed electric charging station, also designed by BETA (who designed the roadside chargers, as well).
Shoreline and BETA began their collaboration in 2019, when Keith’s son, Geoff, had the vision to reduce greenhouse gas emissions locally with electric aircraft. His circuitous route took him to NASA’s Advanced Air Mobility program. Leaders there introduced him to the folks at recent startup BETA, who were on a mission to do just that – create aircraft with no emissions.
Long story short, they talked with Eversource about running more power down the street to handle high-speed charging stations, and Geoff pulled the Massachusetts Department of Transportation Aeronautics Division into the conversation. That agency helped line up the funding mechanism for Eversource to handle the project. And, finally, in 2023, the final wiring and installations took place, making Marshfield Municipal Airport the only location in the state to offer electric charging stations for the aircraft of the future that are happening now.
Cutting the ceremonial ribbon are, from left, MassDOT Aeronautics Administrator Jeff DeCarlo, Rep. Josh Cutler aide Susan Moran, Marshfield Town Administrator Michael Maresco, state Senator Patrick O’Connor, Plymouth Area Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Amy Naples, Geoff Douglass (who spearheaded the project for Shoreline), Shoreline Aviation President Keith Douglass, FAA Regional Administrator Colleen D’Alessandro, BETA Technologies COO Blain Newton, South Shore Chamber of Commerce Director of Local Affairs Eric Dykeman. Photo courtesy of BETA Technologies
For the longer stories, please visit Shoreline’s website newsroom for our entire series – eight parts and lots of photos and an enticing video by BETA that help put it all in perspective.
“This is the future,” Keith said, “and we wanted to be part of that.”
And that is something they’ve always done at Shoreline.
“We have electric vehicles, we have electric tugs, we have electric carts,” Keith told his audience. “Now with the charger here in the airport, we know there’s not a lot of planes here to charge – but we know that’s coming.”
Photos and video are courtesy of BETA Technology.
Come back for more parts to this ongoing series, featuring the insights of stakeholders and proponents of combatting global warming through technological development in aviation.
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