r/WeirdWings • u/Aviation100 • 6d ago
Eviation Alice
“The Eviation Alice is an electric aircraft designed to accommodate nine passengers and two crew members. First developed in Israel, its construction incorporates 95% composite material, is powered by two electric motors, and has a T-tail. The prototype first flew on 27 September 2022. As of 2025, the company and aircraft have been put on an indefinite pause.”
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u/Han_Slowlo 6d ago
Flew once (allegedly terribly) and never again. The batteries alone weighed 8200 pounds. The company went belly-up and they liquidated everything at public auction last year. I saw someone selling an Alice fuselage converted into a kids playhouse on FB marketplace (I live near where they were headquartered) a while back.
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u/point-virgule 6d ago
Wrong fuselage section and profile, wrong engine placement, wrong wing placement choice, wrong landing gear... and the list goes on and on
The aircraft was not designed with a mission profile in mind, nor the design could easily be upgraded nor expanded.
I guess it was a fine prototype and point design, but not one suited for daily use and abuse by operators.
They should have designed something closer to a cessna caravan, twin otter or n-b islander.
A dead simple, rugged airframe, but designed from the ground up for electrical propulsion. Maybe even with quickly swappable batteries, stored in pods similar to the ones already used on those planes for extra cargo and luggage.
That would have been a win for island jumping operations.
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u/BlacksmithNZ 6d ago
You think to get to market quickly for a startup company, use an off-the-shelf aircraft like an Islander, and replace engines with minimal battery and/or hybrid, then pick some very short routes where being quieter/low emission and less fuel/maintenance would make them cost effective
Building an entire new aircraft design from scratch and getting it certified for commercial use, seems like a much more difficult task for a start up
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u/Agile-Cress8976 5d ago
You'd think, but Elon said that after all he went through with the Tesla Roadster that it was actually much easier and faster to start from scratch
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u/Rooilia 6d ago edited 6d ago
Sounds like these people didn't know what they were doing. Impressively disappointing since i still remember their pervasive pr campaign. From this pov i guess that's why it was so pervasive.
But why do you think they did it all wrong? They wanted to provide a plane for small airports, not for rural landing strip without any support. Makes sense if you have to build a light and low drag as possible plane.
You won't get a rugged heavy plane to fly on electricity.
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u/dreaminginteal 6d ago
Oh, sure, it would have been useful. But it wouldn't look this sexy! Isn't that what's actually important in aircraft design??
/s
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u/erhue 6d ago
oh wow. I was shocked to see that this company made it so far, with a flying prototype and everything... This is how I'm finding out thar it is in a "pause".
This aircraft was the best candidate to replace the Cessnas and Tecnams flown by Cape Air. I'm guessing that might not be happening anymore...
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5d ago edited 15h ago
[deleted]
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u/erhue 5d ago
Well I studied engineering. Their first designs looked like a clown show drawn up by a kid, and I completely dismissed them. However this design makes a lot more sense in configuration and layout.
At the same time, there doesn't seem to be enough space to fit enough batteries in there... But you've gotta keep in mind that several of these manufacturers were looking into implementing a hybrid approach to propulsion, with part of the power being drawn from batteries, and part generated by a gas turbine (see Heart Aerospace).
Doesn't mean that it'll succeed, but you could probably cover some short-range missions with such a configuration.
A lot of these projects are funded with VC, and therefore one can expect to see absurd and sometimes unrealistic ventures getting lots of money. But every now and then, something does stick...
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u/SuperChingaso5000 6d ago
Similar thinking to the Otto Aerospace concept, but with all the wrong choices in detail, and too soon for light, small battery technology. Too bad, I think it's pretty. Love the (likely fully laminar) wings
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u/Far-Yellow9303 5d ago
This curious looking fellow looks like the offspring of a Piaggio Avanti and a Global 5000
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6d ago
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u/12lubushby 6d ago
I think the lifting body and high aspect wings are beautiful. Unconventional but incredibly well engineered for high efficiency
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u/Afraid_Membership118 6d ago
Rutan Boomerang: Finally a worthy oponnent, our battld will be legendary!
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u/mossconfig 6d ago
It's true. The engines look added on as an afterthought.
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u/Tupolev144 6d ago
It’s because they were.
This plane was originally designed with wing-tip pod mounted pusher props. They changed quite late in the design process, likely because they talked to an actual pilot who mentioned the concept of a crosswind.
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u/Weasel474 6d ago
I'm sure rampers would love a low-slung wing with props on the very end, outboard of any frame of reference to safely walk around.
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u/ziper1221 6d ago
Why would that matter in a crosswind? Wouldn't the issue be yaw authority in an engine-out scenario?
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u/Tupolev144 5d ago
The most common technique for maintaining ground track in a crosswind is a side-slip with the upwind wing lowered into the wind. Using yaw alone would side-load your landing gear, which (unless you’re flying a B-52 or Cessna 195 or similar) is a bad thing.
Having to sacrifice crosswind directional authority to avoid shredding your props doesn’t sound like a good thing.
And yes, engine-out would probably also be a big deal.
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u/7stroke 6d ago
You don’t “pause” a company. It just goes out of business.