The production version of the Alice electric airplane can do just that

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Years later, the “Tesla of Airplanes” Eviation shows the production version of its electric plane. Alice’s maiden flight will be shorter than expected. In doing so, the company also contradicts Elon Musk.

In the year In 2017, the startup Eviation presented the prototype its first all-electric long-haul aircraft and received a lot of applause. Thanks to the promising concept, the media compared the company with the electric car pioneer Tesla. At the time, there was talk of a range of 965 kilometers and up to nine passengers. Now Eviation presents the production model of “Alice” before and from the predicted range, 814 kilometers remained. This means that it still flies further than any other air taxi model.

When it was first presented at the Paris Air Show, Eviation had spoken of a first flight in 2019 and series production from 2022. The Israeli company was unable to meet the schedule. Now it is again announcing ambitious goals: Alice should take off for the first time in the second half of this year. The aircraft is scheduled to go into service as early as 2024. A battery fire badly damaged the former prototype at the beginning of last year. The aircraft was intact, but the accident was a serious setback, the media reported. Eviation also relocated its headquarters to the USA in order to take advantage of the aerospace know-how there. The corona crisis is also said to be the Development thrown back reports Bloomberg.

Now Eviation is back with a revised version. It only provides for two engines instead of the original three. The two Magnix drives each have an output of 640 kilowatts and are now located at the rear instead of at the wing tips. The V-shaped stern has given way to a T-shape that is customary in the industry. The manufacturer reports that the configuration has been changed based on practical experience and customer feedback. The structure is made of ultra-light composite materials because the aircraft has to drag a 3.7 ton battery with it. It should have a capacity of 820 kilowatt hours. The developers emphasize that it comes from commercially available cells.

Eviation customers want to use Alice on the US commuter market. Various light aircraft are already underway there. The manufacturer announced 150 pre-orders in 2019, including the US airline Cape Air is said to have expressed interest. According to Eviation, the operating costs of the planes are around a fifth of conventional planes. The purchase price of the luxury jet also arouses interest among airlines. Alice is expected to come onto the market for around four million US dollars (3.4 million euros).

Tesla boss Elon Musk also has his own aircraft concept in the drawer. According to him, the batteries for such a system need an energy density of more than 400 watt hours per kilogram. It is estimated that the storage systems in his vehicles generate between 250 and 300 watt hours per kilogram. There are already prototypes with such a high energy density, but series production is apparently still a long way off. Eviation is now stepping up to show that batteries with a lower energy density also make sense in aircraft construction.

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