$5 worth of electricity: Heart Aerospace X1 takes first fully electric flight

Heart Aerospace has successfully put its all-electric X1 prototype plane in the air for the first time as part of the aircraft's maiden flight. The aircraft is eventually intended to operate primarily in kerosene-electric mode on regional routes.

The aircraft flew for a total of 27 minutes, including taxiing, takeoff and landing. It used only energy stored in its batteries, which reportedly came at a very low cost. Heart Aerospace puts the cost of the flight itself at $5. Electricity used for ground taxiing would have to be added to that number. Either way, the company has not disclosed the exact duration of the flight itself, but the aircraft reached an altitude of 1,100 feet while weighing more than 24,250 pounds. That is quite substantial, as a fully loaded Saab 340 with 30 seats has an MTOW of around 28,660 pounds, including fuel.

The X1 is still only a prototype for the time being. The production aircraft, known as the ES-30, is still under development and is scheduled to take its first flight in 2028. Its equipment can therefore be expected to be heavily reduced, which is also apparent from the exterior, including the window and door configuration. The ES-30 is expected to have more of both. The X1 also lacks all the equipment required to use kerosene. Its external dimensions should nevertheless be comparable to those of the ES-30.

Because of the concept's design, the batteries cannot support longer flights. The aircraft will therefore use kerosene to generate electricity for the propellers. The principle is familiar from diesel-electric locomotives, but it is still very uncommon in aviation. That applies to electric aircraft in general. There is a wide selection in general aviation, but not among passenger or cargo aircraft.

The maiden flight is not everything

With the maiden flight, Heart Aerospace has shown that its new design can fly. Reaching that milestone, however, often requires substantial financial investment. Such signals can be important to venture capital investors, but ambitious projects have failed after reaching this stage in the past. Universal Hydrogen, for example, managed very early on to modify an existing aircraft design and get it airborne. After making those investments, however, the company ran out of money and was unable to secure additional funding.

The development of Eviation's Alice was also halted after the aircraft completed its maiden flight. Following the flight, the company decided not to pursue the unusual aircraft design and instead switch to a conventional tube-shaped passenger cabin. This makes it easier to adjust the length by adding or removing sections. The company's current status is unknown.

There are therefore still several hurdles to overcome. Heart Aerospace also had to revise its concept, but identified the problems before conducting a maiden flight. Its successful first flight means Heart Aerospace may be further along than some of its competitors whose projects ultimately failed.

Heart Aerospace plans to bring the aircraft to market as the ES-30 in 2031, following type certification. It is intended to carry 30 passengers fully electric over a distance of 124 miles and achieve a range of 497 miles in hybrid mode.