Heart Completes Subscale Test
EF GLOBAL VTOL

EF Global VTOL

15 Mar 2023

EF GLOBAL VTOL

Heart Aerospace completed the first test flight of a model of its ES-19 electric aircraft. The Gothenburg, Sweden-based electric aircraft developer said that the flight occurred on Dec. 17 at its headquarters at Säve Airport and lasted four-and-a-half minutes. The 15.1-ft (4.6-m) wingspan aircraft is a 1/5-scale scale model of its full-scale ES-19, a planned 19-passenger electric aircraft that is expected to enter commercial service for short-haul flights in 2026. 

The model, which Heart built with assistance from Sweden’s North Sea Drones, flew with an average speed of 68 kt (125 km/h) and a maximum speed of 80 kt (150 km/h). The takeoff and landing speed was 45 kt (85 km/h). The onboard systems, including the electric motors, were entirely off-the-shelf.

The subscale demonstrator was supported by the Swedish Innovation Agency Vinnova, as a part of the research project “Elise” — Electric Aviation in Sweden. “The plane performed exactly as we predicted,” Anders Forslund, founder and CEO of Heart Aerospace, said in a statement. “This test flight validated what we already knew — that the ES-19 aerodynamic design is inherently stable and safe.”

Heart Aerospace was founded in 2018 and is backed by United Airlines and Mesa Airlines, among others. In November, Heart partnered with Aernnova and Garmin on various design elements of the ES-19 (see “Electric CTOL/STOL News: Heart Selects Aernnova, Garmin for ES-19,” Vertiflite, Jan/Feb 2022).