Eviation Aircraft is aiming to complete type certification and service entry for its Alice fixed-wing electrically powered aircraft before the end of 2022. It displayed a first full-scale prototype of the aircraft at the Paris Air Show in 2019 before shipping it to Prescott, Arizona, where it said it intends to begin flight testing before the end of 2019. A second prototype was due to arrive at this U.S. base during the fourth quarter of 2019, having been assembled in Vannes, France, at facilities owned by its composite fuselage supplier Carboman Group. A third production-conforming aircraft is due to be delivered to the Prescott base in mid-2020. Eviation intends to certify Alice under the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration's Part 23 rules.
However, according to a November 22, 2019, report in the Puget Sound Business Journal, the Alice prototype only arrived from France in crates at Grant County International Airport in Moses Lake, Washington, in early November. The aircraft needs to be assembled and is not due to make its first flight until 2020. In late November, Eviation confirmed that the first Alice flight test has been pushed back to 2020 and that Moses Lake will be the base for these flights. It provided no explanation for the delay or change of operational base.
Alice is intended to transform the operating economics of the regional air transportation sector by delivering a significant reduction in energy costs with an all-electric powerplant. 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.
On January 22, 2020, the program suffered a setback when the first prototype example of the Alice was damaged in a fire that start during battery recharging. As of November 2020, Eviation had still not confirmed when preparations for planned flight testing will resume.
Key program partners include the following: Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (test flight support and development work); Siemens and Magnix (electric motor suppliers); Carboman Group (composites for fuselage); Hartzell (variable pitch propellers); Maghaghi Aeronautica (landing gear); Honeywell (flight control and thermal management systems); Kokam (batteries).
In June, Eviation announced that Honeywell has been selected to install its new MicroVCS thermal management system to cool the Alice's cabin, electronic component, and batteries. Eviation did not respond to questions to FutureFlight as to whether the system had been selected in response to the fire.
Eviation also has longer-term plans for a possible executive version of Alice, which would offer longer range with fewer passengers.
At a conference organized by Aero Montreal on December 15, Eviation CEO Omar Bar-Yohay said that the company aims to have Alice certified and ready to enter service in late 2023. He said that a re-designed prototype is expected to begin flight testing during 2021.
However, that milestone was missed and in February 2022, Bar-Yohay resigned from his position, while remaining a company director. The timeline for completion of type certification has since slipped until late 2024.
He has been succeeded by Gregory Davis, who in May 2022 said that the long-anticipated first flight is now set to happen during the summer months. Exhibiting at the European Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition that month, Eviation opened its order book to international customers for both the nine-passenger commuter version of the fixed-wing aircraft, as well as an executive model with six seats in the cabin and a cargo-configured model. It already holds commitments for 75 aircraft from New England-based carrier Cape Air, with express delivery giant DHL expected to take an initial dozen units.
