The Eviation Aircraft electric aircraft goes into production

Four years after Eviation Aircraft unveiled its electric aircraft, the final production version has been completed. Israel’s Eviation Aircraft made its debut at the 2017 Paris Air Show with Alice, heralded as the first electric aircraft capable of long-range flight. Now the company has made another announcement: the production version of the Alice is ready.

According to Eviation, the final version of the electric aircraft will carry up to nine passengers and two crew on board at a time. The vehicle is powered by two Magni650 engines manufactured by MagniX. The high-energy density batteries are built on currently available technology, which the company says makes the aircraft reliable and easy for pilots to operate, Electrec reported.

Alice is 17.09 metres long and has a wingspan of 18 metres. Compared to the prototype, it can spend less time in the air, covering only 440 nautical miles on a single charge, compared to the 960 kilometres previously promised. That means 814 kilometres. Although the range is shorter than promised, Alice is still efficient, with zero emissions and electric propulsion, which makes it much cheaper per kilometre than conventional aircraft. The first Alice is scheduled to enter service in 2024.