• 18 Nov 2024 03:09 AM
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Electric CTOL/STOL News for Nov/Dec 2024

Here’s our roundup of recent news on battery-electric, hybrid-electric and hydrogen-electric conventional takeoff and landing (eCTOL) and short takeoff and landing (eSTOL) aircraft for advanced air mobility (AAM) applications. (Note: All photos are courtesy of the respective companies unless otherwise stated.)

Heart Unveils Full-Scale ES-30 Demonstrator

Heart Aerospace, on Sept. 12, unveiled the full-scale demonstrator (shown) for its 30-seat, hybrid-electric ES-30 passenger airplane design. The Swedish company said the demonstrator was built “almost entirely in-house at Heart’s Gothenburg, Sweden, facilities. Heart aims for a battery-electric flight of the demonstrator — called the Heart experimental HX-1 — in the second quarter of 2025, to be preceded by ground tests of its charging, taxiing and turnaround procedures. Heart also plans to build and fly a preproduction prototype called the HX-2 in 2026. The company also announced completion of ground-support procedure tests in collaboration with airlines SAS and Braathens Regional Airlines, and airport operator Swedavia.

In May, Heart unveiled design changes for its ES-30 aircraft that included the removal of both a truss-brace wing and a large battery compartment in the rear fuselage, previously intended to improve flight range from the company’s initial 19-seat ES-19 design (see “Electric CTOL/STOL News,” Vertiflite, July/Aug 2024).

Electra Flies for US Military

On Sept. 23, Electra Aero announced that it had conducted flight demonstrations of its hybrid-electric eSTOL for military stakeholders at Marine Corps Air Facility Quantico and at Felker Army Airfield at Joint Base Langley-Eustis, both in Virginia. The company, based in Manassas, Virginia, had secured contracts from the US Army and Navy in April.

“Demo flights included takeoffs and landings from grass fields, demonstrating austere operations off-runway without the need for ground support infrastructure,” Electra stated, adding that “the demos included a mobile power generation display” to test the potential of its hybrid-electric powertrain to support tactical and medical missions.

In July, Electra piloted the EL-2 Goldfinch at NASA Langley Research Center, touting the flights as the first piloted tests of an electric aircraft at the facility (see “Electric CTOL/STOL News,” Vertiflite, July/Aug 2024).

Pipistrel Ships First US Velis Electro Trainer

Pipistrel announced on Sept. 24 that it had delivered a Velis Electro airplane to the nonprofit Eco-Aviation Foundation in Santa Monica Airport, California. This aircraft (N343EA) is the first Velis Electro to be used for flight training purposes under a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) airworthiness exemption. Pipistrel, a Textron company, expects to deliver a second Velis Electro to the foundation in November. The Eco-Aviation Foundation is launching a flight school and scholarship initiative to fund ground school courses, including FAA-approved curriculum and training on electric aircraft. Pipistrel said that the Electro “is quiet, producing noise levels of only 60 decibels, low cost and user-friendly, making it an ideal solution for flight training with zero carbon emissions.”

The FAA granted a light sport aircraft (LSA) airworthiness exemption for the Velis Electro to be operated as a flight trainer in March, enabling the company to fulfill US airplane orders. The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) certified the Velis Electro in 2020 with a more expansive light sport aircraft definition (see “Electric CTOL/STOL News,” Vertiflite, May/June 2024).

UrbanLink Orders Eviation and Regent Aircraft

South Florida-based UrbanLink Air Mobility has ordered all-electric, wing-in-ground-effect vehicles from Regent and aircraft from Eviation.

Rhode Island-based Regent announced on Sept. 24 that UrbanLink had ordered 27 all-electric Viceroy seagliders (shown above) with the aim of starting operations in 2027 in Miami, Florida, and San Juan, Puerto Rico. On Oct. 1, Regent announced during the annual UP.Summit in Bentonville, Arkansas, that it is progressing with hardware and systems integration for the first full-scale prototype of its all-electric Viceroy seaglider, which is considered a maritime vessel, not an aircraft, for certification.

Viceroy would carry 12 passengers for roughly 180 miles (290 km) on a single charge. Regent aims to begin sea trials this year and to begin test flights in early 2025.

Eviation Aircraft, on Oct. 2, announced a letter of intent (LOI) with UrbanLink for 10 Alice commuter aircraft (top right) including the option to acquire 10 additional planes. UrbanLink plans to deploy the Alice in Miami, Los Angeles and San Juan. Eviation, which is controlled by the Clermont Group (which also owns magniX), is developing a third iteration of the Alice design. The first was destroyed in a ground fire in January 2020, the second made its one and only flight on Sept. 27, 2022, while the latest Alice design was unveiled in April. Construction has not yet begun on the new version. The start-up’s CEO Andre Stein said on Oct. 15 in an interview with Aviation International News (AIN), detailing how it has focused on searching for suppliers. Stein told AIN he is “very comfortable” with its current financial situation, as the company develops its manufacturing and certification plans.

Cosmic Flies Subscale Skylark

On Oct. 5, Cosmic Aerospace announced the completion of the flight test campaign of its subscale CX-1 Skylark demonstrator aircraft (shown) near its facility in Denver, Colorado. The flights tested the integration of the 10 electric turbofan engines embedded into the wings of the CX-1 and its fully autonomous flight control system. The forthcoming CX-2 prototype will be twice as large with increased power and more engines. In 2026, Cosmic aims to begin flight testing of a full-scale 24-passenger battery-electric demonstrator, with the aircraft expected to enter service in 2029. Cosmic in September sponsored and exhibited at the Regional Airline Association (RAA) Leaders Conference in Washington, DC, pitching its goal of helping regional carriers “decarbonize flights in a way that is both environmentally sustainable and economically viable.”