Heart Aerospace has dropped the 30-seat hybrid-electric ES-30 in favor of a larger, two-propeller version of the airplane called the ES-36, the Los Angeles-based manufacturer announced on Wednesday. Charter carrier JSX has signed a deposit-backed purchase agreement for 50 of the ES-36 airplanes, plus options for another 50.
The redesign comes about six weeks after the first flight of Heart’s X1 demonstrator, which flew August 12 at Plattsburgh International Airport in New York. Heart said at the time that the X1 represented the ES-30, a design featuring four propellers. Chief technology officer Ben Stabler said in a statement that the redesign “is a direct result of what Heart learned designing, building, testing and flying our X1 demonstrator aircraft.”
“Those learnings have helped us make the production aircraft more capable in the air and more productive for operators,” Stabler said. “The ES-36 carries more passengers and payload, creating greater revenue-generating potential for operators like JSX, while targeting operating costs at least 40% lower than legacy regional aircraft.”
Compared with the ES-30, the ES-36 carries six more passengers and 1,415 pounds more payload, or 20% more of each, on the same maximum takeoff weight and the same battery capacity, according to Heart. The company said each propeller has its own 1.65-megawatt electric motor, while a megawatt-class turbogenerator in each of the two parallel powertrains—driven by what Heart called a commercially available gas turbine—generates electricity in flight.
Heart, a start-up that relocated from Sweden to the U.S., put the airplane’s battery-only range at 125 miles (200 kilometers) and its hybrid range at 745 miles (1,200 kilometers), both plus reserves. The company’s website advertised roughly 500 miles of hybrid range for the ES-30. Heart said it is still targeting operating costs at least 40% below those of legacy regional airplanes, the same goal it set for the earlier design.
The ES-36 spans 95 feet, about 11 feet less than the ES-30, which Heart said suits crowded regional airfields where ramp and gate space is tight.
For JSX, the agreement firms up a letter of intent the Dallas-based carrier signed in December 2023 covering up to 100 ES-30s. Neither company disclosed the deposit amount, the value of the agreement, or delivery dates. JSX CEO Alex Wilcox said the airplane will let the carrier fly more nonstop routes from more convenient airports. JSX serves 29 airports in the U.S. and Mexico with 56 ERJ-family airplanes and four ATR 42-600s, according to the carrier.
Heart said it is building a pre-production ES-36 at its Los Angeles plant, with first flight targeted for the second half of 2028 and service entry in 2031, after the FAA certifies the airplane under Part 25. The company did not say whether commitments from Heart’s other customers, among them United Airlines and Air Canada, now apply to the ES-36.
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