JAKARTA - The world's first multi-electric passenger aircraft finally flew into the sky for the first time. The electric plane even reached a height of 3,500 feet during an 8-minute flight in Washington.
After years developed by EViation Aircraft, the inaugural flight of the zero-emissions aircraft powered by the two 640 kilowatt electric motors slid seamlessly when seen at 07:10 on Tuesday, September 27 from Grant County International Airport in Moses Lake., Washington.
Alice is targeted for commuter and cargo markets and will typically operate flights ranging from 150 to 250 miles. This is the same as the standard flight from New York City to Washington, DC which is about 206 miles by plane.
During the inaugural flight, the plane's motor sounded much calmer, more like pruning electric grass, and the plane itself produced a sound that looked more like a buzz than a typical gasoline-powered jet prop.
Today, our all-electric Alice aircraft electrified the skies and embarked on an unforgettable world’s first flight. See Alice make history in the video clip below. We’re honored to celebrate this groundbreaking leap towards a more #sustainable future.#electricaviation pic.twitter.com/Q9dFoTPyiB
— Eviation Aircraft (@EviationAero) September 27, 2022
Alice will be available in three different configurations: nine-pass passenger commuter, six-passer executive cabin, and eCargo version. All configurations will support two crew and executive cabin and an eCargo version identical to the commuter, except for the more luxurious interior.
Arlington-based Environment, Washington has signed a deal with DHL Express for 12 Alice eCargo aircraft; In addition, two regional airlines, the Massachusetts-based Cape Air and Florida-based Global Crossing Airlines, have ordered 75 and 50 Alice aircraft, respectively.
"Today we started the next aviation era, we have managed to shock the sky with Alice's unforgettable first flight," EViation president and CEO Gregory Davis said in a statement, quoted by the Daily Mail.
The public now knows what it looks like and the sound of affordable, clean, and sustainable flights for the first time in a fixed-winged electric plane, he said. Not a single breakthrough will lead innovation in sustainable air travel, and establish passenger and cargo travel in the future.
The name Alice comes from the novel Lewis Carroll Alice in Wonderland. Back when the company started in 2016, one of its founders, Omer Bar-Yohay, while working on designing this plane while listening to Jefferson Airplane's White Rabbit played in the background. He started calling the project Alice.
The plane was first launched more than three years ago on the Paris Air Show. The company has placed the prototype of the aircraft through its year of assembly and surface testing and work appears to have paid off.
It's amazing, said test pilot Steve Crane, according to GeekWire. It's handled as we thought. Very responsive, very fast on the thrillle, and getting in for an amazing landing. I can't be happier than this."
Crane explained that the relatively short flight was meant to be the first of a series of'small steps' for the trial program. "Today is only about the initial envelope," he told reporters. "For future testing, we will expand the envelope."
If all goes according to plan, Environment hopes to get certification from the Federal Aviation Administration and their products will enter the market by 2027.
The company must also rotate and adjust because technologies driving all types of electric vehicles have been evolving for years.
What we have learned so much, and one of the main things driving the development of our program is the advancement of battery technology, right? Davis told GeekWire.
"So we, I would say, are completely honest with ourselves about what we're going to achieve. Everything will be based on getting batteries to blend with the development cycle for the aircraft," he added.
The English, Chinese, Japanese, Arabic, and French versions are automatically generated by the AI. So there may still be inaccuracies in translating, please always see Indonesian as our main language. (system supported by DigitalSiber.id)
