The world’s largest all-electric aircraft took to the skies for the first time in the U.S.
Heart Aerospace’s X1 demonstrator made its maiden voyage in upstate New York as part of a test mission.
Weighing more than 25,000 lbs at takeoff, the X1 needed just $5 worth of electricity to fly for almost half an hour.
An American startup made history earlier this week, as its experimental plane took off for the first time. Heart Aerospace’s X1 is the world’s largest all-electric aircraft to take to the skies, with the first test flight happening on August 12 at Plattsburgh International Airport in upstate New York.
Spanning 106 feet, measuring 76 feet nose to tail, and weighing over 25,000 pounds at takeoff, the battery-powered aircraft flew for a total of 27 minutes during its maiden voyage, climbing up to 1,100 feet. During this initial test flight, the plane’s electric powertrain delivered over one megawatt of power, but the electricity bill for the whole thing was just $5, according to the startup.
