Eviation introduces its all-electric luxury aircraft (Alice) with an impressive 500-mile range.
After transforming commute on land, sustainable technologies are making their way into the flight industry as well. New by Eviation is a classy looking all-electric nine-seater luxury aircraft capable of covering 440 nautical miles (506 miles, 814 km) once its 820-kWh battery pack is fully charged.
All-electric powertrains are backed by lithium battery packs, and while the luxury planes using electric systems would be out of reach for most, the future holds hopes to source cheap lithium obtained from underwater bodies, bringing down the cost of future all-electric commute systems substantially.
Eviation received first of three electric motors called Magnix Electric Propulsion Units, while the rest two it would receive shortly. Each unit will be used to power-adjustable pitch pusher propellers. Two would be deployed at each wing’s tip, while a third one would be hoisted on Alice’s tail, allowing for an added lift. Magnix Electric Propulsion Units will make the aircraft capable of venturing at speeds more than 253 mph (407 km/h).
Adding to its luxury, the all-electric aircraft by Eviation would maintain low levels of noise, thanks to its all-electric powertrain. Alice’s impressive 506 miles range comes at a cost of an added weight of its 8,200-lb (3,720) lithium-ion battery which makes up more than half of the aircraft’s total weight. Optimizing this situation, engineers used an ultra-lightweight composite material to build the aircraft, cutting down on weight as much as possible.
Eviation views that Alice, luxury nine-seater all-electric aircraft, and other aircrafts featuring electric powertrain would come at sky-high prices in the start. However, these prices owe to drop over time. The world is progressing towards finding lithium reserves from depths of the sea; the ones we have on land are expected by industry experts to exhaust by the year 2080. Whereas seawater sourced lithium would serve to reduce all-electric airplane costs remarkably.