Eviation Aircraft
The Site and Facilities Manager for Eviation Aircraft, Leland Moreno-Hilburn, was our speaker at our meeting on April 7.
Leland Moreno-Hilburn
When Leland Moreno-Hiburn retired to Arizona following 30 years with the Boeing Company, he had no idea that he would be attracted back into a ground breaking aerospace endeavor--development and manufacturing of an all electric commuter aircraft. The idea originated in Israel where the company got its start in 2015. The founders were Omer Bar-Yohay, Omri Regev and Aviv Tzidon. Until February, its co-founder, Omer Bar-Yohay, was the CEO of the company. The new Interim CEO was selected to move the company into the manufacturing phase.
In 2018 a full scale unmanned model was flown for the first time. Thereafter a prototype was built for what is now known as "Alice" to display at the 2019 Paris Airshow, where is stole the show. By then, Eviation had teamed up with a private university, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, in Prescott, Arizona. That is where Leland joined the group.
Eviation’s vision is "Changing the way people travel regionally through affordable, sustainable aviation". Its mission is to lead the aviation industry by creating aircraft that enable carbon-free regional travel. In 2021, the company began looking for a site to relocate to manufacture the plane. It was attracted to the Puget Sound region by the aerospace eco-system. There are experienced, trained workers with a supply chain in place here already. By happenstance there was a hanger available at the Arlington Airport that met the company's need. Other hangers have since opened up, allowing for a campus.
There has been intense inquiry regarding the plane. The key has been the development of Lithium-ion batteries. Now to fully charge the battery it takes 90 to 120 minutes. This should improve. The plane could do hops between regional airports on a 20 minute charge between stops. The goal would be to have charging stations all across US at various regional airports, of which there are over 7000.
The all-electric aircraft, Alice, is available in three formats: commuter, executive and cargo. Here is an overview of the aircraft:
The 9 passenger configuration would be with a single pilot. Two pilots could be utilized and some airlines have expressed an interest in using the 2nd pilot spot for training pilots. The use of electric propulsion should have the impact of reducing the cost of aircraft by 30% to 40%. Again, it could make regional air travel affordable and it would fulfill the goal of moving to sustainable green technology.
Here is a map showing all of the potential fixed base operations (FBO's) that could serve the electric commuter aircraft industry:
Sometime this year, Alice should be approved by the FAA for full commercial development. Our program was postponed twice, the last time because the FAA was in town. To see more about the company and "Alice", click HERE to go to Eviation's website.
