Largest battery-electric aircraft completes historic first flight powered by $5 electricity
Heart Aerospace’s X1 completed a 27-minute test flight
The world's largest battery-powered electric aircraft has completed its maiden flight at Plattsburgh International Airport in New York, marking a significant step towards cleaner aircraft technology.
Heart Aerospace's X1 demonstrator aircraft completed the 27-minute test flight on Wednesday (12 August), reaching an altitude of 1,100 feet (335 metres) above ground level. Its all-electric propulsion system delivered more than 1 megawatt of power during the flight.
According to The Weather Network, the test flight consumed electricity costing only about $5. The flight was conducted at Heart Aerospace's X1 test base at Plattsburgh International Airport.
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The company said the flight was designed to demonstrate all-electric flight technology on a scale comparable to commercial airline operations.
"With the first flight of X1, Heart Aerospace has demonstrated electric flight at the scale of a commercial airliner," said Anders Forslund, founder and CEO of Heart Aerospace.
He said electric commercial aircraft could reshape airline economics and eventually make air travel more affordable, frequent and cleaner.
The X1 is 106 feet (32.3 metres) long and weighed more than 25,000 pounds at take-off.
Heart Aerospace said the successful flight came amid high global jet fuel prices, highlighting the potential of electric propulsion to reduce aircraft operating costs and lessen airlines' exposure to fluctuations in oil prices.
"The energy transition for aviation will require a range of solutions, from operational efficiencies to sustainable aviation fuels and, ultimately, the development of new aircraft technologies," said John Di Bert, executive vice-president and CFO of Air Canada.
