World’s first all electric airliner flies from Moses Lake–Getty Images
The company has been around since 2015, but just recently, their dream of building an electric airliner-cargo plane took flight.
“Alice” lifted off today from Grant County International Airport in Moses Lake
A company called Eviation has achieved a milestone in electric-powered travel, as Tuesday, September 27th, their twin-engine propeller powered airplane named “Alice” made its maiden flight.
Eviation was originally founded by two Israeli scientists-engineers 7 years ago, they are also headquartered in Arlington, WA.
A news release from Governor Inslee’s office made reference to the flight. At 7:10 AM the plane lifted off, cruised around, and landed. The aircraft is capable of flying at about 299 MPH and has a range of approximately 287 miles. Reportedly that range does not include a 30-minute range window which apparently indicates the aircraft has 30 more minutes of flying time left.
Would you fly on one? Companies already ordering aircraft.
According to PRNewswire, Cape Air and Global Crossing Airlines, which are two U.S. commuter carriers, have ordered a total of 125 Alice models combined, and the freight carrier DHL has placed an order for 12 of the cargo version. However, it is not slated for long-distance flights, the website and company mention “regional” travel.
From images posted on the Eviation website, the commuter version carries 9 people, the cargo version has 450 cubic feet of room. The plane has a maximum carrying capacity of 2,500 lbs or 1.5 tons. Compare that with the capacity of an existing Boeing 737 cargo plane, which can be adapted to carry up to 23 tons of cargo.
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