Latest news about Eviation's Alice all-electric commuter airplane. 

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Eviation on Friday introduced the design for the six-passenger executive-cabin version of its Alice all-electric aircraft. The unveiling comes as the start-up&nbsp;awaits a spell of good weather to make a first flight with its redesigned prototype as it works to get the fixed-wing model certified and in commercial service during 2026.
In addition to the proposed corporate version, the <a href="https://www.futureflight.aero/aircraft-program/alice">Alice</a> will be offered with nine passenger seats for scheduled, sub-regional airline service and&nbsp;as a freighter with seats removed to make space for cargo.&nbsp;The executive cabin features a fully equipped galley with a lavatory and sink, a six-foot, four-inch-wide cabin, a wardrobe to stow jackets and other personal belongings, a side panel at each seat with a foldable table, personal power outlet, and a USB slot. 
The passenger version&nbsp;of the Alice has windows that are&nbsp;22-inches&nbsp;high and 16.5-inches wide. Eviation claims the&nbsp; 100-cubic-foot baggage compartment is the largest in its class. 
“Alice’s executive cabin is the epitome of pure all-electric elegance&nbsp;and a magnificent blend of beauty and technology,” said Eviation CEO Omer Bar-Yohay. “We are shaping the future of travel through electric aviation and it’s thrilling to offer a glimpse into what business travel can and will look like in the very near term. Our executive cabin concept elevates the industry standard for interior design for this class of aircraft.”
While promoting an executive version of the Alice as a means to “redefine executive air travel,” Eviation sees Alice earning its living in passenger-carrying services for operating sectors as short as just 50 miles and up to around 300 miles. Operators might include carriers trying to start new point-to-point routes&nbsp;but also major airlines looking for a more cost-effective way to feed traffic through their large hub airports.&nbsp;In the freight sector, Eviation sees the prolific growth in e-commerce opening opportunities for new electric aircraft. 
Powered by two Magni650 electric propulsion units produced by Eviation's sister company MagniX,&nbsp;Alice uses a fly-by-wire flight control system from Honeywell, wings, and other aerostructures from GKN, and cockpit systems from BendixKing. The single-volume, high-energy-density Alice battery energy system is made from currently available battery cells and technology, meaning the system does not rely on future advancements for flight. 
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Senior Editor

Gregory Polek

Eviation Unveils Executive Version of Alice as First Flight Nears

Ground tests for Eviation’s Alice electric aircraft are far advanced and the company expects to achieve a first flight before the end of this year. According to co-founder and CEO Omer Bar-Yohay, his team is awaiting a spell of good weather to kick-start the flight test campaign for the nine-passenger fixed-wing aircraft from its new headquarters at Arlington in Washington state.
Since unveiling an initial prototype of the <a href="https://www.futureflight.aero/aircraft-program/alice">Alice</a> at the 2019 Paris Air Show, Eviation has largely kept the program under wraps over the past two years. In July, it unveiled a revised design as it works to achieve FAA type certification in time for service entry during 2024. 
The newly published design drawings reveal significant changes from an earlier prototype, with a new T-tail configuration replacing a distinctive V-shaped tail. The Alice’s two MagniX Magni650 electric propulsion units have been relocated from the wingtips to a pylon mount at the rear of the fuselage.
Speaking with FutureFlight during the recent NBAA-BACE show, Bar-Yohay said that the new design is the result of a detailed development process, rather than some sort of eleventh-hour change in philosophy. “The development effort for Alice went through very significant iterations over the years,” he explained. “We’ve had over 160 different models, and of them six were built, so this is yet another change that brought us to the production configuration.”
Evidently, concerns over the complexity of the type certification process were a major factor driving the abandonment of the eye-catching wingtip propellers. “It’s just not a very common configuration to be able to take through the certification process in a fairly fast manner,” Bar-Yohay said. “But there was also the sentiment of clients and specifically the pilots of those clients preferring to get a more traditional airplane even at a small cost in range, so we found that [propellers mounted to the rear fuselage offered] a more robust, let’s say simpler and cleaner wing that allows us to transition to pilots more easily, and is going to serve us to the development of the fly-by-wire systems, the augmented stability, and getting all those advanced features the fly-by-wire allow.”
Eviation’s engineering team expects the new configuration to improve stability in flight. The relocated, larger propellers will deliver more power.
According to Bar-Yohay, the start-up has plenty of financial power behind the program, with strong backing from its Singapore-based majority shareholder&nbsp;Clermont Group, which also owns MagniX. It also has an announced launch customer in express delivery group DHL, which has placed a provisional order for a dozen Alices.
While several other new aircraft developers are only too eager to trumpet sales announcements, raising questions as to whether these represent substantive commercial transactions, Eviation is taking a more cautious approach. “We’re taking our time announcing those as they mature to actual purchase orders,” said Bar-Yohay. “We have a few commitments, but we don’t want to go public with them before they’re actual purchase orders when significant down payments change hands, and that’s really going to happen more around the first flight and the days that will follow.”
Eviation sees Alice earning its living in passenger-carrying services for operating sectors as short as just 50 miles and up to around 300 miles. Operators might include carriers trying to start new point-to-point routes, but also major airlines looking for a more cost-effective way to feed traffic through their large hub airports. 
In the freight sector, Eviation sees the prolific growth in e-commerce opening up opportunities for new electric aircraft. “Traditionally the cargo market looks at used planes at a very low price point and honestly, parcels don’t need to go to the lavatory and they don’t care too much about their condition so the fact that we have a fabulous cabin doesn’t make any difference,” Bar-Yohay said. Eviation believes Alice will offer this sector an attractively-priced, new-build workhorse that will be an attractive alternative to having to settle for cast-offs from passenger operations. 
Eviation also intends to offer a six-seat version of the Alice suited to private aviation operations, as well as other models for a variety of special mission applications. “I believe there are quite a few areas where this makes sense because of the sustainability aspect,” concluded Bar-Yohay. “But again the bread and butter of the way we look at this program is to make sure that this works for our operators from a financial perspective first and foremost, and if they’re using regional jets or turboprops today they would rather switch to an Alice and justify their &nbsp;investment within a few years.”
Apart from MagniX, the program's key suppliers include GKN, which is supplying aerostructures including the wing, and cockpit systems group BendixKing.&nbsp;
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Managing Editor

Charles Alcock

As First Flight Approaches, Eviation Founder Explains How and Why Alice Got a New Look

Eviation Aircraft this week unveiled the revised design for its <a href="https://www.futureflight.aero/aircraft-program/alice">Alice</a> all-electric aircraft, confirming its plans to complete FAA type certification in time for entry into service in 2024. In an announcement on July 1, the company said the aircraft will make its first test before the end of this year.
The newly published design drawings reveal significant changes from an earlier prototype, with a new T-tail configuration replacing a distinctive V-shaped tail. The Alice’s two MagniX Magni650 electric propulsion units (EPUs) have been relocated from the wingtips to a pylon mount at the rear of the fuselage.
“We moved from a V-tail to a T-tail to optimize performance and handling and make it easy and reliable for pilots to seamlessly transition to flying the aircraft,” a company spokeswoman told FutureFlight. 
In addition to two crew seats, the Alice will be able to carry up to nine passengers in various applications that could include air taxi or sub-regional scheduled airlines services. The aircraft is projected to have a range of up to around 500 miles at speeds of just over 250 mph.
In May, MagniX delivered the first Magni650 EPUs to Eviation. Singapore-based Clermont Group owns the two companies.
Eviation has sublet several hangars at Arlington Airport in Washington state and has spent at least $300,000 to renovate the facility to support its plans for the Alice development work. MagniX is based in nearby Everett and its president, Roei Ganzarski, is executive chairman of Eviation.
Other key program partners announced so far include Honeywell Aerospace, which is providing the Alice’s fly-by-wire flight control system, and aerostructures group GKN Aerospace. On June 3, GKN said that it has delivered the first fully integrated wings, empennage, and electrical wiring interconnection systems for the aircraft from its facility at Bristol in the UK.
“Sharing our production Alice design is a special day for Eviation and our partners,” said Eviation CEO Omer Bar-Yohay. “Electric aviation will continue to open up new possibilities for affordable, sustainable regional travel around the world. Alice is poised to turn that possibility into a reality soon.”
According to Eviation, it has sufficient funding to take the Alice into production and, for now, has the human resources it needs to advance the program to certification under FAA Part 23 rules. In May, Gregory Davis joined the company as president. He was formerly a vice president with aircraft aftermarket services group Viking Air and before that worked for Marshall Aerospace and Defence.
The earlier Alice prototype was first publicly exhibited at the Paris Air Show in June 2019. It was moved to Eviation’s then development site in Phoenix&nbsp;but never began flight trials after being damaged in January 2020 when a ground-based battery system caught fire.
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Eviation Unveils Redesigned Alice Electric Aircraft as First Flight Approaches

GKN Aerospace has delivered the first fully integrated wings, empennage, and electrical wiring interconnection systems (EWIS) for the Eviation <a href="https://www.futureflight.aero/aircraft-program/alice">Alice</a> all-electric aircraft.&nbsp; The wings and empennage feature advanced composite technology and are the first delivered by GKN Aerospace as fully integrated structures.
In a June 3 announcement, GKN said U.S-based Eviation, is taking advantage of GKN Aerospace’s skills in airframe, structures and EWIS from across the Europe-based group. Products manufactured at facilities in Cowes, Filton, Western Approach, and Hoogerheide have supported the build and assembly. GKN completed final assembly and integration at the new £32 million ($45 million) Global Technology Centre in Bristol.
GKN Aerospace and Eviation announced the collaboration agreement covering the design and manufacture of wings, empennage, and EWIS in May 2020. The parts were produced using pre-preg open moldings and autoclave curing. GKN says it is currently planning for a low rate of initial production.
Eviation plans to fly the nine-passenger, 500-mile-range Alice for the first time later this year as it aims to complete FAA type certification by the end of 2023.&nbsp;The aircraft is powered by an electric propulsion system developed by its sister company MagniX. It recently took delivery of the first example of this unit at its new headquarters in Washington state. 
An image released by Eviation to accompany today's announcement shows the original design for Alice. The company has declined to comment on reports that it has redesigned the aircraft since it was first unveiled in 2019.
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GKN Supplies First Wings, Empennage and Wiring For Eviation Alice Aircraft

Eviation Aircraft is stepping up preparations for the first flight with its all-electric <a href="https://www.futureflight.aero/aircraft-program/alice">Alice</a> aircraft later this year. It reported today that it has taken delivery of the first electric propulsion unit (EPU) supplied by its sister company, MagniX.
According to Eviation, it remains on track to complete FAA type certification of the fixed-wing aircraft by the end of 2023. This is about 12 months later than initially targeted, with the delay largely caused by disruption from a fire that in January 2020 damaged an earlier prototype during ground testing in Prescott, Arizona. The source of the fire was traced to a fault in a ground-based battery system. 
The company, which is now based at Arlington in Washington state, says that the Alice will be able to carry nine passengers just over 500 miles. It has not commented on reports that the design has been changed over the past year. Images published in FlightGlobal in January showed what seemed to be a reworked model with two forward-facing propellers on the horizontal stabilizer of a T-shaped tail. The original prototype had a pair of pusher propellers on the wingtips and one more on the rear end of the fuselage.
MagniX, which like Eviation&nbsp;is owned by Singapore-based Clermont Group, has been flying its EPU since December 2019&nbsp;on other aircraft, including a Cessna Grand Caravan and the DeHavilland DH-2 Beaver. The company says it expects to complete certification of the electric motor and battery combination under FAA Part 33 rules in 2022. 
“The MagniX delivery is one of the key milestones in getting emission-free, low-cost, all-electric aviation off the ground with the first flight of the Alice,” said Eviation CEO Omer Bar-Yohay. “After many successful flights and tests of the MagniX EPUs, we’re confident the system will propel us to bring Alice to market and deliver&nbsp;a sustainable, scalable mobility solution that will revolutionize passenger and cargo flights.”
Eviation has sub-let several hangars at Arlington Airport and has spent at least $300,000 to renovate the facility to support its plans for the Alice development work.
MagniX is nearby, in Everett, Washington. Its CEO, Roei Ganzarski, was appointed chairman of Eviation in November 2019. 
During interviews with FutureFlight’s sister publication AIN, Eviation said that the $4 million aircraft will offer direct operating costs of just $200 per flight hour. U.S. operator Cape Air placed the launch order for Alice in a June 2019 deal for an undisclosed number of aircraft. The company claims to have total orders&nbsp;for 150 aircraft with more than one customer but has not disclosed the names of any other prospective operators.
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With MagniX Propulsion System Delivered, Eviation Prepares for Alice's First Flight

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Tier 1 supplier GKN Aerospace will provide the wings, empennage, and EWIS for the Alice regional electric aircraft.

GKN Signs as Key Supplier on Eviation’s Alice Electric Aircraft

A fire broke out during ground testing of Eviation’s all-electric <a href="https://www.futureflight.aero/aircraft-program/alice">Alice</a> aircraft on January 22 at Prescott Regional Airport in Arizona. The company said that the fire is believed to have been caused by a fault with a ground-based battery system. It has yet to confirm how extensively the prototype aircraft may have been damaged in the incident.
The Prescott Fire Department was on standby for the planned test and quickly extinguished the fire, which caused no injuries. Eviation has begun an investigation into the full causes of the fire and has not said how the incident may impact plans to begin flight testing the aircraft.
Israel-based Eviation is aiming to complete type certification for the fixed-wing Alice before the end of 2022 under the FAA’s Part 23 rules. The first prototype arrived in Prescott in late 2019, having been shipped from Vannes, France, where it was assembled at facilities owned by composite fuselage supplier Carboman Group.
Two more prototypes are due to be delivered to the U.S. this year. Eviation pushed back plans to begin flight testing in late 2019 into 2020. The company has been doing development work in partnership with the Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University’s Prescott campus&nbsp;but intends to conduct Alice’s flight testing at Moses Lake in Washington.
Alice is being designed to carry nine passengers on flights of up to around 650 miles and at speeds of up to almost 280 mph. The aircraft is powered by three electric motors provided by Magnix, which is part of the Singapore-based Clermont Group that is now the majority shareholder in Eviation.
It has a&nbsp;900-kWh battery pack powering&nbsp;electric motors that drive three variable-pitch propellers—one installed in the tail of the aircraft, and one on each side of the wing. The combined power of the three electric motors is 260 kW. Full charge time for the batteries is projected at 70 minutes, or 30 minutes to provide enough power for a 60-minute flight.&nbsp;
Eviation says that the $4 million aircraft will offer direct operating costs of just $200 per flight hour. U.S. operator Cape Air placed the launch order for Alice in a June 2019 deal for an undisclosed number of aircraft. The company claims to have total "orders" for 150 aircraft with more than one customer but has not disclosed the names of any other prospective operators.

Fire Damages Eviation's First Alice Prototype During Ground Testing

Chad Trautvetter

Clermont has completed its majority acquisition of Eviation Aircraft, which plans to become the first-to-market manufacturer of an all-electric aircraft.

Singapore's Clermont Group Acquires Eviation Aircraft

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Eviation

News

Eviation Unveils Executive Version of Alice as First Flight Nears

As First Flight Approaches, Eviation Founder Explains How and Why Alice Got a New Look

Eviation Unveils Redesigned Alice Electric Aircraft as First Flight Approaches

GKN Supplies First Wings, Empennage and Wiring For Eviation Alice Aircraft

With MagniX Propulsion System Delivered, Eviation Prepares for Alice's First Flight

GKN Signs as Key Supplier on Eviation’s Alice Electric Aircraft

Fire Damages Eviation's First Alice Prototype During Ground Testing

Singapore's Clermont Group Acquires Eviation Aircraft

Eviation’s All-Electric Alice Regional Airliner Secures a Major Launch Order

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