Heart Aerospace’s X1 becomes world’s largest battery-electric aircraft to fly

Heart Aerospace has completed the first flight of its full-scale X1 demonstrator, which the company says is the largest battery-electric aircraft ever flown and an important step towards development of its 30-seat ES-30 regional airliner.

The milestone flight took place on 12 August at Plattsburgh International Airport in New York State. The piloted X1 remained airborne for 27 minutes, reached 1,100 feet above ground level and demonstrated an all-electric propulsion system producing more than one megawatt of power.

With a wingspan of 106 feet (32.3 metres), a length of 76 feet (23.2 metres) and a take-off weight exceeding 25,000 lb (11.3 tonnes), the X1 is intended to demonstrate electric propulsion at a scale relevant to future commercial airline operations.

Operating under an FAA Special Airworthiness Certificate in the Experimental Category, the first flight included taxiing, take-off, climb, manoeuvring and landing.

Heart says the aircraft was powered entirely by batteries and consumed approximately $5 worth of electricity during the 27-minute flight, illustrating one of the potential economic advantages of electric propulsion. However, the X1 is a technology demonstrator rather than a prototype of an all-electric commercial aircraft.

The demonstrator supports development of Heart’s ES-30, a conventional 30-seat regional aircraft that will use hybrid-electric propulsion rather than relying exclusively on batteries. The programme is being developed towards FAA Part 25 certification.

Heart Aerospace says the X1 will help validate technologies, aerodynamics, flight performance and engineering processes that will feed into the production aircraft programme.

The ES-30 has already attracted commitments from airlines including United Airlines, Air Canada and JSX. Heart is targeting entry into commercial service in 2031 and claims the aircraft could reduce operating costs by more than 40% compared with legacy regional aircraft through lower energy consumption, simpler electric propulsion systems and reduced maintenance requirements.

Development is meanwhile progressing at Heart Aerospace’s pilot manufacturing facility in Los Angeles, where the company is building its first pre-production ES-30. Flight testing of that aircraft is scheduled to begin in 2028.

The successful X1 flight therefore represents an important technological milestone, although substantial development and certification work remains before Heart’s hybrid-electric regional aircraft can enter airline service.