With ground testing complete, Eviation says it is weeks away from the start of flight testing for its Alice electric aircraft in the summer months at its Washington state headquarters. At last week’s European Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition in Geneva, the start-up said it is ready to start taking provisional orders from international customers, who could include scheduled passenger airlines, but also private aviation companies and freight operators.
Eviation is marketing both a nine-passenger commuter version of the fixed-wing aircraft, as well as an executive model with six seats in the cabin and a cargo-configured model. It already holds commitments for 75 aircraft from New England-based carrier Cape Air, with express delivery giant DHL expected to take an initial dozen units.
The EBACE show marked almost three years since Eviation has been present in Europe and since its debut at the 2019 Paris Air Show, the configuration of the Alice has changed markedly. Input from prospective customers and improved propulsion technology led to a redesign that saw a trio of 350 kW electric motors replaced by a pair of 650 kW units now fitted by the tail, instead of being mounted on the wingtips. The motors are manufactured by its sister company MagniX.
In July 2021, Eviation revealed a fundamental redesign of the Alice, which it first unveiled at the 2019 Paris Air Show. After consultation with prospective customers and discovering that more powerful electric propulsion units would be available, it reduced the number of motors from three to two and relocated these from the wingtips to a new T-shaped tail.
“We think we’ve found the sweet spot in electric aviation with a nine-passenger commuter aircraft based on existing aerodynamic lift technology and using existing airspace,” Gregory Davis, Eviation’s president, and interim CEO told FutureFlight. “Nine passengers is the limit for commuter category [operations] with a single pilot in North America and under 19,000 pounds [maximum takeoff weight] is also the limit so that’s how we ended up with the Alice and the size that it is.”
Eviation is already at least six months behind a previously-announced timeline for the start of flight testing that would have seen the Alice make its first takeoff from Arlington Airport in December 2021. In February 2022, the company's co-founder and CEO Omer Bar-Yohay unexpectedly resigned.
The company has not explained the basis for the latest delay but now projects that it will be able to conduct its FAA Part 23 type certification test campaign in 2024. It will also seek EASA approval under the European agency's bilateral agreement with the U.S. regulator.
