Spanning 106 feet, measuring 76 feet nose to tail, and weighing more than 25,000 pounds at take-off, the X1 is the largest battery-electric aircraft ever flown.

On 12 August 12th, 2026 the Heart’s X1 ascended into the air at Plattsburgh International Airport, for a flight of 27 minutes, during which X1 reached an altitude of 1,100 feet.

Powered entirely by batteries, X1 used approximately $5 worth of electricity during its first flight, highlighting the potential for electric propulsion to deliver structurally lower aircraft operating costs while decoupling airlines from the volatility of global oil markets.

“With the first flight of X1, Heart Aerospace has demonstrated electric flight at the scale of a commercial airliner,” said Anders Forslund, CEO of Heart Aerospace. “Electric commercial aircraft have the potential to fundamentally reshape airline economics and, ultimately, lower the cost of air travel for passengers. This is at the heart of our vision for abundant air travel, with electrification enabling more affordable, frequent, and cleaner air service to and from airports closer to home.”

X1 is a full-scale demonstrator representative of Heart’s ES-30 production aircraft, a conventional fixed-wing, 30-seat hybrid-electric regional airliner being developed and expected to be in service from 2031. Heart expects the ES-30 to reduce aircraft operating costs by more than 40 per cent compared with legacy regional aircraft, and Heart foresees this cost advantage widening over time through advances in battery technology, technology-enabled gains in crew efficiency, and the ES-30’s low exposure to a growing range of emissions-related aviation taxes and fees worldwide.

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