Alice: All-Electric Aircraft Takes Off From U.S.

Israeli company, Eviation Aircraft successfully launched world’s first all-electric passenger aircraft, the Alice from Washington’s Grant County International Airport.

The zero-emission plane traveled at an altitude of 3,500 feet for its eight-minute inaugural flight.

With battery technology similar to that of an electric car or a cell phone and 30 minutes of charging, the nine-passenger Alice will be able to fly for one hour, and about 440 nautical miles.

The plane has a max cruise speed of 250 knots, or 287 miles per hour. For reference, a Boeing 737 has a max cruise speed of 588 miles per hour.

Eviation was founded in 2015 and has been pushing the Alice forward ever since.

The company hopes to use the information gathered during Tuesday’s flight to review next steps and deliver aircrafts to customers by 2027 — though Eviation warns that plan is subject to change.

The company says it expects to be working on developing an FAA-certified aircraft through 2025, followed by a year or two of flight testing before it can deliver Alices to customers.