Source: Ars Technica
Heart Aerospace's ES-30 burned through barely $5 in electricity during its 28-minute maiden flight. The constraint on electric aviation isn't power consumption but battery weight, charging infrastructure, and range. The technology works at scale; what's needed now is grid integration and aircraft redesign for real routes, not proof-of-concept flights. Once charging networks and longer-range batteries arrive, operating economics could undercut regional turboprop routes.