Heart Aerospace Rolls Out First Full-Scale ES-30 Demonstrator We have been hearing about Heart Aerospace for a while now but the company has not made a flight with a prototype as yet despite all the orders and press they have been receiving. However, the company recently rolled out its first full-scale technology demonstrator. The prototype is already under ground test trials and Heart Aerospace suggests that it will fly for the first time in the second quarter of 2025. The ES-30 is the company's hybrid-electric regional airliner.
The aviation industry is trying to clean up its operations with current available technologies, battery tech, sustainable aviation fuel, solar power applications, green hydrogen and other sustainable practices. "Our industry is approaching a 30-year innovation cycle, and we have less than 25 years to decarbonize aviation," said Heart’s co-founder and CEO Anders Forslund. "It is a testament to the ingenuity and dedication of our team that we’re able to roll out a 30-seat aircraft demonstrator with a brand-new propulsion system, largely inhouse, in less than two years."
The ES-30 aircraft is preliminarily anticipated to have an electric-only range of 109 nautical miles. Since it is hybrid there are a pair of turboprop engines. Employing those in flight will essentially double the range. It is not clear who the supplier of the aircraft's engines will be at this stage. The first aircraft has a pair of turboprops outboard and a pair of electric motors inboard. The company also has filed two EU design applications and one patent application for an innovative new nacelle integration design that significantly improves the flight characteristics of its regional hybrid-electric aircraft, the ES-30, allowing it to operate on shorter runways.
The aircraft rolled out during a "hangar day" at the company's Gothenburg, Sweden headquarters on September 12, 2024. The first demonstrator is called Heart X1 and the company will be testing rigoursly all the systems while the aircraft is on the ground. This will consist of hardware on the aircraft as well as software on and off the aircraft. Heart X2 will be the next aircraft to be produced but do not expect to see that demonstrator until 2026 if all goes to plan. For more information: Heart Aerospace Fredsflottiljens Väg 19, 417 46 Göteborg, Sweden www.heartaerospace.com ***
