Eviation successfully conducted the first flight of the Alice all-electric commuter and cargo aircraft prototype from Moses Lake, Washington, on Sept. 27, marking a major milestone on the road towards the fielding of a new generation of sustainable air vehicles.
Flown by Eviation test pilot Steve Crane, the twin electric motor-powered Alice lifted off from runway 32R at Moses Lake’s Grant County International Airport at 7:11 a.m. Pacific Time. Climbing to a circuit altitude that allowed for a glide-back recovery if needed, Crane conducted basic energy state checks and pitch authority tests before returning to land at 7:19 a.m.
The 8-min. flight followed high-speed taxi tests on Sept. 17 when the aircraft reached a rotation speed of 113 kt. and also comes after Eviation received a permit to fly from the FAA earlier this month. Tests of the 16,500-lb. Alice, a nine-passenger aircraft designed to fly 440 nm on an 8,300-lb. battery pack, follow a long development period punctuated by technical challenges and a major redesign in the wake of a battery fire that destroyed the first prototype in 2020.
Eviation moved flight testing earlier this year from the company’s Arlington, Washington, facility to Moses Lake, where it has worked with aerospace company AeroTEC to complete the aircraft. The transition also enables Eviation to take advantage of the quieter airspace and longer runways at Grant County International.
More conventional than the original, tailwheel-configured, three-engined aircraft first unveiled in 2017, the redesigned, 57-ft.-long Alice has a tricycle gear, a T-tail and two tractor propellers on nacelles mounted on the aft fuselage. In place of the earlier trio of 280-kW magni250 electric motors from sister company MagniX, the aircraft now is powered by 850-shp/640-kW magni650 electric propulsion units.
Batteries are housed beneath the fuselage in two large ventral compartments, each incorporating 56 segmented containers called cassettes. Each cassette contains 192 cells, for a total of over 21,000 individual cells, all of which are constantly monitored for correct voltage, temperature, charging and discharging status. Individual cassettes can be shut down in the event of a failure.
Following the redesign, Eviation targeted certification and entry into service in 2024, but more recently has said the aircraft will make its commercial debut later in the decade pending further improvements in battery technology. The slippage was signaled earlier this month when Eviation noted initial deliveries to Miami-based Global Crossing Airlines Group—which in September signed a letter of intent for 50 Alice aircraft—were not expected to begin until 2027.
Commenting on the extended timeline, recently appointed Eviation CEO Gregory Davis says the Alice production configuration will also be updated to reflect design lessons learned during development, as well as those likely to come through flight tests. “This [first aircraft] is a technology demonstrator, it shows that the systems can function, and it proves that we can do it,” Davis says.
“There is so much that we’ve learned that we’re going to incorporate into an aircraft that we want to produce on a mass scale. The Alice will become lighter and be more marketable, and as of today, we’re sitting at a point where we’re comfortable to start flying,” he adds. “It’ll be the next iteration of the aircraft that goes in the certification program.” The second and third aircraft are expected to become serial numbers one and two, while the prototype will be retained as a technology demonstrator.
“The certification program for the aircraft is going to be tied to the development timeline for battery technology,” Davis says. “That’s really what we need to anchor to. We could rush ahead and have an airplane design years before the batteries were ready and then we’d have an aircraft that’s out of date when it goes into service. So we’re being very mindful.”
“As we get more mature in the program, and we learn things, we’ve been able to hone-in on the real usage cases for the aircraft. I call it the sweet spot. But we understand now where the technology will be when we enter into service and what that means for our initial customers,” he adds.
Despite the battery development challenges, Eviation maintains that initial operating costs of the Alice will be 30% to 60% lower than similarly sized aircraft, allowing shorter commuter and freight routes to be flown with efficiencies and economies unobtainable with current technology.
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