At the Paris Air Show this week, Eviation—we actually kind of like the name—unveiled a non-flying, electric powered prototype of its 9-seat commuter plane, called, oddly enough, “Alice.” The Israeli company is real, in the sense that it has facilities and has already managed to come up with the mockup/prototype.
We’ll start referring to it as a prototype when its engines are purring away, something Eviation hopes to pull off by this summer. The design is odd, with a pusher motor at the rear and two wingtip-mounted motors. The design requires fly-by-wire control to make the whole thing work, though we’ll see how it actually works once actual motors are installed.
Eviation is looking for funding for the endeavor, and it got good news when commuter airline Cape Air signed up as its launch customer. Alice (again, that’s the plane’s name) has a targeted range of 650 miles and can hum along at 240 knots, at least that’s the plan. We’ll keep you apprised.
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