Overview
- Heart Aerospace conducted a 27‑minute piloted test at Plattsburgh that flew on Wednesday, August 12 and reached 1,100 feet while completing taxi, takeoff, climb, maneuvering and landing profiles.
- The X1 is the largest battery‑electric aircraft flown to date with a 106‑foot wingspan, takeoff weight above 25,000 pounds, and an all‑electric propulsion system that produced more than 1 megawatt during the flight.
- The test operated under an FAA Special Airworthiness Certificate in the Experimental Category and was used to collect flight‑characteristics and propulsion data rather than to demonstrate full type certification.
- Heart is building a pre‑production ES‑30 at its Los Angeles pilot plant with flight testing targeted to begin in 2028 and entry into service aimed for 2031, and the program has commercial commitments from United Airlines, Air Canada and JSX including a 100‑aircraft pre‑commitment from United.
- Key remaining hurdles include formal FAA Part 25 certification, battery energy‑density and charging advances, and schedule risk that has produced past slippage; Heart projects about a 40% operating‑cost cut for the ES‑30 but that is contingent on those technical and regulatory outcomes.