Arlington, Washington-based Eviation has unveiled the production design configuration for its Alice all-electric commuter aircraft on track for a first flight later this year according to the company. The production configuration was optimized from real-world lessons learned and customer feedback. Alice is projected by the company to be certified for entry into service by 2024.
“Alice, a nine-passenger, two-crew member aircraft, produces no carbon emissions, significantly reduces noise, and costs a fraction to operate per flight hour of similar aircraft,” the company said in a news release. “Alice is powered by two magni650 electric propulsion units from magniX. The airplane’s advanced fly-by-wire system is made by Honeywell. The single-volume, high-energy density Alice battery system is made from currently available battery cells and is not reliant on future advancements. These proven technologies and design elements make it easy and reliable for pilots to seamlessly transition to flying the Alice and will create a superior passenger flying experience, accelerating the aircraft’s path to market.”
Dominic Gates, an aviation journalist for the Seattle Times, reported on some of Eviation’s history in a recent story. “Eviation was founded in 2015 in Israel by Chief Executive Omer Bar-Yohay. Ganzarski, an Israeli-born former Boeing executive, said the company retains now only a small research and development unit in Israel while most of its roughly 90 employees are in Arlington, now the company headquarters. Late last year, Eviation moved to some leased hangars at Arlington Municipal Airport, where it is assembling its first planes and plans to conduct ground and flight tests.
“When Bar-Yohay showed off the nonflying prototype in Paris in 2019 he predicted a first flight later that year. But the plane hadn’t flown yet when, in January 2020, a lithium-ion battery pack used for a ground test caught fire and destroyed the prototype, setting the operation back further. The unveiling of the final design Thursday marks the program’s production recovery. Yet the company is not disclosing much information about market prospects.”
Alice is expected to be certified for entry into service by 2024.
