Eviation is still on track to perform the first test flight of its all-electric Alice aircraft by October, according to company officials. The startup aircraft manufacturer teased new photos of the Alice on Twitter this week, showing the nine-passenger aircraft on the tarmac at Grant County International Airport in Moses Lake, Washington, where the first test flight is expected to occur sometime in the next five weeks.
Originally scheduled to take place before the end of 2019, the debut test flight of the aircraft has been delayed for some time without explanation. However, the company said it had completed ground tests in May in preparation for the initial flight at Moses Lake.
“Eviation is validating the changes we made to the aircraft after our initial ground testing as we prepare for flight,” a company spokesperson told AIN sister publication FutureFlight. Eviation did not elaborate on exactly what changes have been made to the aircraft since ground testing was completed.
After introducing an initial Alice prototype at the Paris Air Show in 2019, Eviation unveiled a revised design for the aircraft in June 2021, just a few months after an earlier prototype was damaged in a fire.