Inside world’s first all-electric passenger plane

It’s the first of its kind in the world and has already revolutionised the aviation industry with a unique feature like no other.

An electric plane has just revolutionised the aviation industry after it successfully took to the skies in a test flight on Tuesday.

‘Alice’ is the world’s first all-electric passenger aircraft with battery technology similar to that of a smart phone.

It was created by Israeli company Eviation with the zero-emission plane travelling at an altitude of 3500 feet for its eight-minute inaugural flight from Washington’s Grant County International Airport.

The high desert area is often used for testing innovations in aviation.

The company behind it is now working on developing a Federal Aviation Administration-certified aircraft.

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World’s first all-electric passenger plane successfully takes to the skies on Tuesday. Picture: Eviation

“This is history,” Gregory Davis, Eviation’s president and CEO told CNN Business.

“We have not seen the propulsion technology change on the aircraft since we went from the piston engine to the turbine engine.

“It was the 1950s that was the last time you saw an entirely new technology like this come together.”

Eviation’s aim is to make aviation more efficient and less expensive by taking advantage of advances in electric propulsion and battery technology.

’Alice’ carries nine passengers, two pilots and is designed in a way to give ample space. Picture: Eviation

It is described as having ‘wide, elegantly-designed seats’ that come with a 32-inch pitch for ‘generous personal space’. Picture: Eviation

With battery technology similar to that of an electric car or a smart phone and 30 minutes of charging, the nine-passenger plane will be able to fly for one hour to two hours, the publication reported.

The aircraft is designed for short trips of up to 500 nautical miles (NM) and is powered by two 850hp (horsepower) Magni650 electric motors with all the power for the plane stored in a 900 kWh battery.

The zero-emission plane was designed by Israeli company Eviation. Picture: Eviation

Bird’s-eye view of ‘Alice’. Picture: Eviation

The plane will need to be charged for 30 minutes after each hour of flight time and is anticipated to be carried out by charging carts.

According to Simple Flying, the current batteries are reported to be tested for more than 3000 flight hours and when they require replacement, the anticipated cost will be $US250,000 ($A385,000) – lower than the cost of replacing or overhauling a piston engine for a similarly sized aircraft.

There’s three different versions of the Alice in prototype stages: a ‘commuter’ variant, an executive version, and one specialised for cargo.

The commuter variant carries 11 people – including two pilots, as well as 385kg of cargo.

It is also designed in a way to give ample space.

“Wide, elegantly-designed seats come with a 32-inch pitch for generous personal space,” it states on the Eviation website.

Eviation Aircraft said it expects to be working on developing an FAA-certified aircraft through 2025, and if all goes well, it will hit the market by 2027.