Posted on 09/28/2022 1:00:50 PM PDT by Red Badger
A historic moment for zero-emissions flight, as the 9-seat Alice commuter plane makes its first test flightEviation
After showing off with some extravagant runway wheelies last week, Alice, the "world's first all-electric commuter aircraft," lifted off overnight on a historic first flight. It's another major milestone toward zero-emissions medium-range air travel.
Alice took off at 7.10 am local time from Grant County International Airport in Washington state, and made a short, 8-minute circuit, reaching an altitude of 3,500 ft (1,067 m) before coming in and touching down.
"Today we embark on the next era of aviation – we have successfully electrified the skies with the unforgettable first flight of Alice," said Eviation President and CEO Gregory Davis. "People now know what affordable, clean and sustainable aviation looks and sounds like for the first time in a fixed-wing, all-electric aircraft. This ground-breaking milestone will lead innovation in sustainable air travel, and shape both passenger and cargo travel in the future."
Eviation is targeting 2026 for FAA certification and entry into service Eviation is targeting 2026 for FAA certification and entry into serviceEviation It is indeed a significant moment, although there's a way to go yet. The Alice we see flying in the video below is still an experimentally registered prototype, rather than a fully certified production aircraft. Eviation still has to run it through a full and rigorous flight test regime, and jump through the many hoops of FAA certification, not just for the aircraft and all its systems, but also for the company itself as a design organization and a production facility. The company hopes to have this all squared away and get Alice into service by 2026.
(Excerpt) Read more at newatlas.com ...
Bet that one won’t survive a lighting strike batteries heat up real fast.
“Uhmmmm....considering IFR flight rules requiring fuel range to your destination and then to your alternate, plus 45 minutes reserve, I”
Uhmmmm .... considering you don’t know squat about IFR flight rules.
Not sure when my next 8 minute flight is going to fit into my schedule.
10 skinny passengers..................
No such thing as a zero-emissions vehicle of any type.
Batteries are probably aft of the wings. Also aft of passenger compartment. And near the motors. That’s what I’d do anyway. Power cables from the batteries to the motors are going to be heavy gauge, and need to be as short as possible.
What a lot of people on this thread are forgetting is that THIS IS AN EXPERIMENTAL AIRCRAFT. It is a TECHNOLOGY DEMOSTRATOR. Complaints about it not being “practical” are rather missing the point.
It's like those portable cassette tape players from the 1980s. Just enough battery power to get you through both sides of The Cars' debut album and maybe side one of "Candy-O". If you wanted to hear "Night Spots", you had to flip the tape and change out batteries.
What is the take-off distance?
Maybe it could be used as a caddy cart on extremely long golf courses...
OTOH, I probably would have said a similar thing at Kitty Hawk in 1903...
And how far can in it go, how long to recharge???????
Mid-air refueling generator planes with extension cords.
‘It was wonderful’: Eviation’s Alice electric airplane wins praise after its first flight test
https://www.geekwire.com/2022/eviation-all-electric-alice-airplane-first-flight-test/
Zero emissions? Where did the electric charge come from? Angel farts?
Add that to charge time and flight prep, I'd rather drive.
Huh ... I got many cassettes worth of play out of one set of batteries on my Sony Walkman, back in the day. Maybe I used a better grade of battery ...
I think electric vehicles, in general, are stupid. But ripping on an experimental airplane for not being as “practical” as you might like is also stupid.
“On the contrary, a battery pack fire will lead to a lost aircraft and fatalities every single time.”
Not to mention burning lithium falling on the homes and businesses below.
We could have a Dresden every month or so because of the climate or something.
That must have been the problem. I didn’t have a Sony Walkman, but one of those knockoffs.
**8 minutes...**
Yeah, it ran out of juice at 3500 ft and glided back to the airstrip....
Lol
Wenatchee is just across the river! Moses Lake is about 75 miles away
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