In July, Futura presented the characteristics of Heart Aerospace’s ES-30, a powered airliner hybridhybrid electric aircraft that can carry up to 30 passengers. Today, the aircraft manufacturer has just unveiled for the first time its demonstratordemonstrator life-size. It has a wingspan of 32 meters and doordoor the code name Heart Experimental 1. It is quite rare for the first prototype to be the size of the future commercial version of the aircraft. Typically, aircraft manufacturers carry out their tests by gradually increasing the dimensions of theaircraftaircraft.
In the photos, we can see that the big ones packspacks batteries are positioned at the back of the device. This is probably a question of centering for the massmass of the aircraft. The aircraft is expected to make its maiden flight in 100% electric mode as early as next year, but for the moment, all of the tests are being carried out on the ground. This is the case, for example, of recharging its batteries designed by BAE-Systems. This rapid charge is supposed to be limited to 30 minutes. In the photos released, the four engines present all appear to be electric. At least, we note the absence of the characteristic exhausts of turboprops. This certainly explains the fact that during its first flight tests, only the electric motor will be tested.
Commercial flights in 2028
From 2026, the Swedish firm plans to build a pre-production prototype, the Heart X2. It will allow flight testing using the aircraft’s hybrid mode. Ultimately, the ES-30 will be designed to perform short-haul flights. Its range should be 200 kilometers for the electric engine alone. However, to double this distance, two conventional turboprops take over. Due to the torque of its electric engine and with the support of the turboprops, the aircraft will be able to take off from very short runways. The company claims that it is suitable for runways limited to 1,100 meters. Given the sustained pace of development, the commercial ES-30 model could well fly from 2028, provided that the aircraft can be certified beforehand.
