First flight : Alice, the first all-electric passenger airplane

Overview

Eviation’s all-electric Alice airplane streaks over the runway at Moses Lake, Wash.

MOSES LAKE, Wash. — After years of on-the-ground development, Eviation’s all-electric Alice airplane quietly took to the air here on the morning of September 27 for its first test flight.^[1]

Eviation Alice

Alice taxis toward the airport terminal after its first test flight.

The Eviation Alice^[2] is a projected electric aircraft designed to accommodate nine passengers and two crew members. Currently under development, its construction incorporates 95% composite material, is powered by two electric motors, and has a T-tail.

General characteristics :

Crew: 2
Capacity: 9 passengers
Length: 17.4 m (57 ft 1 in)
Wingspan: 19.2 m (63 ft 0 in)
Height: 3.84 m (12 ft 7 in)
Max takeoff weight: 8,346 kg (18,400 lb)
Commuter Payload: 1,100 kg (2,500 lb)
Cargo Payload: 1,100 kg (2,500 lb)
Powerplant: 2 × magniX 650 Electrical Power Unit , 700 kW (940 hp) each

Performance :

Cruise speed: 407 km/h (253 mph, 220 kn)
Range: 815 km (506 mi, 440 nmi)
Endurance: 2.8h at MTOW[32]
Service ceiling: 9,800 m (32,200 ft)
Typical Cruise Altitude: 3,000 m (10,000 ft)
Take-off Field Length: 840 m (2,750 ft)
Landing Distance: 620 m (2,040 ft)
Balanced Field Takeoff (Dry, ISA, Sea Level): 1,100 m (3,500 ft)

Detail

Eviation’s Alice airplane passes by on the runway.

Alice flew for eight minutes and reached a maximum altitude of 3,500 feet before landing safely back at the airport.

So how was the ride? “It was wonderful,” Crane said. “It handled just like we thought it would. Very responsive, very quick to the throttle, and it came on in for a wonderful landing. I couldn’t be happier.”

Crane explained that the relatively short flight was intended to be the first in a series of “baby steps” for the test program. “Today was just about the initial envelope,” he told reporters. “For future tests, we’ll expand that envelope.”

Arlington, Wash.-based Eviation is on a growing list of ventures that are aiming to make aviation more efficient and less expensive by taking advantage of advances in electric propulsion and battery technology.

“What we have just done is made aviation history,” Gregory Davis, Eviation’s president and CEO, said after the flight. “This is about changing the way that we fly. It’s about connecting communities in a sustainable way, and we are obviously beaming with pride on this beautiful sunny day here at Moses Lake.”

The Alice aircraft — whose name was inspired by the book “Alice in Wonderland” and the Jefferson Airplane song “White Rabbit” — will come in different variants for commuter, cargo and executive flights. Davis said the initial goal is to build a plane with a maximum range of 200 to 300 nautical miles.

Photographers wait for Alice’s first flight – and watch the sunrise.

The Future

Well-wishers greet test pilot Steve Crane as he emerges from the cockpit.

Davis acknowledged that the design specifications and capabilities of the production version of the plane may be something of a moving target, due to Eviation’s dependence on improvements in battery technology. “It’s going to be carbon fiber, it’s going to be fly-by-wire, it’s going to be electric — so in that respect, it’s the same plane,” Davis said. “As far as the actual design of the aircraft, I think everything’s going to be evolved.”

If all goes according to plan, the airplane will win certification from the Federal Aviation Administration and hit the market by 2027 — which is later than the 2024 time frame that Eviation was listing a year ago.

“What we’ve learned is a lot, and one of the key things that’s driving the development of our program is the advancement of battery technology, right?” Davis told GeekWire. “So we’re being, I will say, entirely honest with ourselves about what we’re going to be able to achieve. … It’s all going to be based on getting the batteries to converge to the development cycle for the aircraft.”

Three years ago, Eviation said the list price for an Alice airplane would be $4 million — but today Davis declined to provide an updated price tag. “I wouldn’t rely on anything that was mentioned a few years ago,” he said.

In any case, the list price for an airplane doesn’t always reflect what customers pay. Actual pricing is typically decided privately on a deal-by-deal basis, and several deals have already been announced. DHL Express ordered 12 Alice eCargo planes last year, and Massachusetts-based Cape Air ordered 75 all-electric passenger planes in April. This month, the GlobalX charter airline said it intended to order 50 passenger planes, with deliveries due to begin in 2027.