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Following the historical debut test flight of the all-electric Alice aircraft last month, Eviation is preparing to move forward with the licensing processes and preparing the infrastructure for manufacturing, assembly, and delivery of the flits for its first customers, which already placed orders for 140 cargo and commuter aircraft. The company plans to make three more planes that will be used in the coming years for the required test flights, with the target of starting commercial flights in 2027. 

Alice’s first test flight lifted on September 28 from Grant County International Airport (MWH). The plane took off to an altitude of 3,500 feet for 8 minutes before landing back. It was the first time the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has certified an all-electric demonstration flight. 

“It was history in the making”

Two of the people present at the demonstration were CEO Gregory Davis, who was appointed to this position 6 months ago in place of co-founder Omer Bar-Yohay, and CTO Lior Zivan, who monitored flight data from the control room. In a conversation with Techtime, the two talked about the excitement of the first flight and the path that remains until the sky will be filled by the company’s electric planes. 

Davis: “Alice demonstrates the greatest development in the aviation world since the transition from the piston engine to the jet engine. It was an amazing feeling to see the plane take off and later return after the mission was successfully completed. Everyone in the field knew they saw history in its making”.

Zivan: “We are aware of the importance of our work for both sustainability and for connecting communities. It is the future of aviation. This is a once-in-a-lifetime experience”.  

Reviving the regional flights market 

Alice is powered by two electric motors and does not emit carbon. It can carry up to nine passengers for 620 miles and 260 knots operating speed and targets in the regional short flights market, which usually consists of flight routes of a few hundred miles between cities within the same state. In the US, for example, such lines exist between Miami and Orlando, or between Dallas and Houston. Flights from Tel Aviv to Eilat are also considered regional. These flights are usually operated by small planes, taking off and landing at small airports.  

In recent years, the volume of regional flights is steadily decreasing, mainly due to the high operational costs. According to Davis, Eviation’s plane can revive this market. “The key for the future regional flights market is costs reduction and environmental focus. Regional aviation is decreasing year by year in the last two decades, and we observe a shift to larger planes between larger airports”.

“Alice’s operation costs are 90% lower than the equivalent jet plane. No air pollution is produced and it is much quieter. Electric aviation will make a huge transformation in the economic and environmental levels. It will commute people easily and will connect communities in cleaner and more convenient ways. This will assist in reviving the dwindling market and many small airports currently stand deserted”.  

All-electric, all-electronic 

Alice is a full all-electric plane, and it is controlled by a fully electronic pilot control system (fly-by-wire). While in conventional planes the pilot controls by mechanical or hydraulic means over the actuators that operate the various systems, the electric plane’s systems are controlled by electronic commands, including the tiller, engines, and landing gear. Today, fly-by-wire systems are usually in use in large commercial planes such as Boing 777/787 or Airbus A340  and A350. Alice is the first small passenger plane (classified as the FAA’s Part 23 rules for small airplanes) in the industry that is fully all-electric. 

According to Zivan, this is a landmark no less important than electric propulsion. “With fly-by-wire, the pilot is using the computer to control the flight. The advantage of using this method is the ability to add safety improvements and human error protection mechanisms, and make the flight much easier and safer, for example in severe weather conditions”. Eviation developed Alice’s control systems in collaboration with industry leaders such as Honeywell, Parker Lord, and Curtis Wright. “Developing the system was a joint effort. This is a highly complex system, involving many systems within the plane”. 

Battery capacity is not a limit?

“Today’s batteries enable us to operate commercial flights between cities. Already today there are thousands of flights that Alice can serve. As technology advances, the number of potential lines will increase. I believe that the development in the battery industry in the next years will make it possible for us to reach greater flight ranges and higher speeds”. 

Until now, the company received letters of intent from companies intending to place orders for 140 cargo and commuter aircraft. In April 2022, Massachusetts’ Cape Air announced its intention to place an order for seventy-five units, and a few weeks ago, Eviation reported another letter of intent received from Miami’s GlobalX, showing interest in purchasing fifty electric Alice aircraft. 

Senior representatives of these companies also attended the demonstration flight, and they issued enthusiastic responses. Davis: “We have amazing customers, who are also partners in our vision. Alice is an essential component in their long-term environmental strategy. Cape Air, for example, strives to reach zero-emission flights. Alice’s current model can serve about 80% of their airline routes”.

Source: https://techtime.news/2022/10/26/eviation-4/