Ready to fly electric?

I was pleasantly surprised to hear about “Alice”, the electric plane that took off earlier this week from a small airport in Washington State. 

The 9 passenger aircraft flew at an altitude of 3,500 feet for eight minutes. With batteries similar to those of an electric car and after charging it for thirty minutes, Alice would have been able to fly for about one hour. 

Based on today’s battery technology, the new plane is targeting a range of 250 nautical miles and a top cruising speed of 250 knots, or 287 miles per hour. It would be used for short flights when it enters service by 2027 as its developers are hoping for. 

Alice’s progress between now and this target date will be fun to watch…