Heart Aerospace has announced the successful first flight of its X1 demonstrator aircraft. Spanning 106 feet, measuring 76 feet from nose to tail and weighing more than 25,000 pounds at takeoff, X1 is the largest battery-electric aircraft to have flown.
The flight took place on August 12, 2026, at Heart’s X1 flight-test base at Plattsburgh International Airport, a regional commercial airport serving a community of 20,000 people in upstate New York. The piloted mission lasted 27 minutes, during which X1 reached an altitude of 1,100 feet above ground level (AGL), while its all-electric propulsion system delivered more than one megawatt of power.
The flight was conducted under an FAA Special Airworthiness Certificate in the Experimental Category (SAC-EC). The test profile included taxi, takeoff, climb, maneuvering and landing, with the mission designed to demonstrate all-electric flight at a scale relevant to commercial airline operations.
Powered entirely by batteries, X1 used approximately $5 worth of electricity during its first flight. The flight took place amid a sustained increase in global jet fuel prices, which averaged $3.50 per gallon for the week ending August 7, representing a 63% year-over-year increase. The figures highlight the potential for electric propulsion to reduce aircraft operating costs while reducing airlines’ exposure to fluctuations in global oil markets.
Anders Forslund, Founder and CEO of Heart Aerospace, said the first flight demonstrated electric flight at the scale of a commercial airliner. He added that electric commercial aircraft could reshape airline economics and support more affordable, frequent and cleaner air services to and from airports closer to passengers.
X1 is a full-scale demonstrator representative of Heart’s ES-30 production aircraft. It is designed to validate key technologies, aerodynamics and flight performance, as well as Heart’s organizational capabilities. The ES-30 is a conventional fixed-wing, 30-seat hybrid-electric regional airliner being developed for FAA Part 25 certification. The aircraft has attracted customer commitments from major air carriers including United Airlines, Air Canada and JSX.
Michael Leskinen, Chief Financial Officer of United Airlines, said the first flight of X1 represents a major technical achievement for Heart Aerospace. He added that electric commercial aircraft have the potential to improve the passenger experience and support airline business operations, while United looks forward to the continued development of the ES-30.
John Di Bert, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Air Canada, said aviation’s energy transition will require a range of solutions, including operational efficiencies, sustainable aviation fuels and new aircraft technologies. He added that Air Canada’s investment in Heart Aerospace and the ES-30 reflects its support for technologies with the potential to transform aviation.
With entry into service targeted for 2031, Heart expects the ES-30 to reduce aircraft operating costs by more than 40% compared with legacy regional aircraft. The expected reduction is attributed to lower energy costs, reduced maintenance requirements from simplified electric propulsion and electrified flight systems, and increased aircraft uptime and reliability enabled by an integrated electronics and software architecture.
Heart expects this cost advantage to increase over time through advances in battery technology, technology-enabled improvements in crew efficiency and the ES-30’s lower exposure to a growing range of emissions-related aviation taxes and fees worldwide.
Ben Stabler, Chief Technology Officer of Heart Aerospace, said the X1 program has enabled the company to develop capabilities to design, build, test, operate and continuously improve a clean-sheet electric commercial aircraft. He added that these capabilities are being carried into the ES-30, which is intended to become Heart’s first production aircraft and the foundation of a broader technology platform for electric airliners.
