All-electric airplane prototype completes eight-minute flight in Washington, scripts history

Marking a new phase in aviation travel and sustainability, an all-electric aeroplane prototype took off the tarmac in Central Washington and soared 3,500 feet high into the sky in the wee hours of Tuesday morning. 

The aeroplane named 'Alice' took off from Moses Lake, Washington and lasted eight minutes in the air before taxing onto the terminal. However, by then, the plane and its manufacturing company 'Eviation' had registered themselves in the history books. 

“What we’ve just done is made aviation history. This is about changing the way that we fly. It’s about connecting communities in a sustainable way," Eviation CEO Greg Davis was quoted as saying by The Seattle Times.

Reportedly, the airplane has a carbon composite frame and is powered by 21,500 small Tesla-style battery cells which make up half of its four-tonne weight. The plane can carry nine passengers and two pilots. 

Test pilot Steve Crane, 55, who flew 'Alice' heaped praises on the new electric airplane and added that he couldn't hear the sound of the engine. 

"It’s beautiful. The team did a great job, built a great airplane. It’s a fast airplane, very responsive. I couldn’t be happier. I hear all the other things. Hydraulic pumps. I hear the propellers. But I can’t hear the engines. They’re silent," said Crane. 

While the flight was a success, Davis conceded that they were nowhere near achieving commercial capabilities which could take as much as five years. 

“Are the batteries on the prototype aircraft capable of propelling the certification aircraft, capable of providing sufficient energy? The answer is no, absolutely not,” said Davis. 

Notably, the first all-electric aeroplane flight was made in 2019 by Harbour Air of Vancouver, BC which used a retrofitted DHC-2 de Havilland Beaver seaplane.