Alice, the first all-new electric passenger plane, took its maiden flight at a Washington state airport Tuesday morning, circling for a few minutes before landing back at the airport eight minutes later, the Seattle Times reports. (Video above from The Times’ Dominic Gates)
Built by US-Israeli partnership Eviation, the plane would be able to carry nine passengers as far as 500 miles. If it gains FAA certification, the company already has orders for 125 aircraft from two regional air travel providers: a regional airline in Cape Cod and charter airline that serves Florida and the Caribbean. Although other all-battery-powered aircraft have flown, they have been conventionally-powered craft converted to battery power. Alice will be the first aircraft designed from the ground up to be powered by batteries.